{"title":"Ethiopia","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTo most coffee drinkers, Ethiopia as a place feels forever on the other side of a tantalizing gap. The coffees themselves, when made well, can be mind-alteringly complex and overwhelmingly fragrant. They taste different from all other countries’ coffees and are never convincingly interchangeable with any other washed or sun-dried arabica on Earth. From Ethiopia’s landscape comes some of the best-known flavor descriptors in the coffee world (blueberry, jasmine, bergamot) that are considered global benchmarks of flavor. The source of Ethiopia’s allure as a truly sovereign and ancient culture of coffee is its imperviousness to so much of the industry that cash-cropped the coffee belt around it.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"39053","title":"Ethiopia Yirgacheffe 1 Natural Banko Chelchele - 39053 - 30.0 kg GrainPro Bags - SPOT SHANGHAI","description":"This coffee comes from smallholders in the Chelchele area, part of the Gedeb district in southern Gedeo Zone, where some of Ethiopia’s most complex and aromatic naturals come from year after year.   Gedeb is a unique area dense with coffee growers and processors. The coffee was processed at a central site in Banko Gotiti, one of the district’s most prolific coffee areas.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;strong\u0026gt;Gedeb's Significance and Coffee Profiles\u0026lt;\/strong\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\nThe district of Gedeb takes up the south-eastern corner of Ethiopia’s Gedeo Zone—a narrow section of plateau dense with savvy farmers whose coffee is known as “Yirgacheffe”, after the zone’s most famous district. Gedeb, however, is a terroir, history, and community all its own\u003cbr\u003e\nthat merits unique designation in our eyes. Coffees from this community, much closer to Guji Zone than the rest of Yirgacheffe, are often the most explosive cup profiles we see from anywhere in Ethiopia. Naturals tend to have perfume-like volatiles, and fully washed lots are often sparklingly clean and fruit candy-like in structure.\u003cbr\u003e\nThe municipality of Gedeb itself is a is a bustling outpost that links commerce between the Guji and Gedeo Zones, with an expansive network of processing stations who buy cherry from across zone borders. These processors (and we would agree) would argue their coffee profiles are not exactly Yirgacheffe, but something of their own. The communities surrounding Gedeb reach some of the highest growing elevations for coffee in the world and are a truly enchanting\u003cbr\u003e\npart of the long drive into Guji. Banko Gotiti is one of the communities in eastern Gedeb and includes numerous local cooperatives, as well as independent processing stations of various types, like this one.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;strong\u0026gt;EDN Ethiopian Coffee\u0026lt;\/strong\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\nEDN Ethiopian Coffee is an independent processor and exporter of coffee with processing sites in Guji, southern Yirgacheffe, and Sidama. The coffee was processed at the group’s site in Banko\u003cbr\u003e\nGotiti, one of Gedeb’s most prolific coffee producing areas.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nThe Banko Gotiti site employs over 200 people during harvest months to manage the continuous rotating and sorting of sundried cherry and parchment, as well as all other intake, payment, security, and inventory operations. Being a processor for EDN is much more than\u003cbr\u003e\ntransactional—they prefinance all their contributing farmers, provide educational resources, daily meals and lodging for staff. Amenities like these are both a gesture of care and acknowledgment of the potential instability inherent to smallscale farming. They are also strategic, since many processors in the area compete for farmer loyalty, and important for the sustainability of coffee and its workforce in the area.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;strong\u0026gt;Processing at Banko Gotiti\u0026lt;\/strong\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\nNaturals at the Banko Gotiti station are received as fresh-picked cherry on a daily basis throughout harvest. Cherry is sorted for defects and moved immediately to raised beds to dry.\u003cbr\u003e\nFor 2-4 weeks the cherry is rotated continuously in the sun until they have sufficiently dried.\u003cbr\u003e\nOnce fully dried, the cherry pods are moved to a cool, indoor storage environment to rest and condition—a process where moisture balances across the coffee and water activity stabilizes, to help lock in the coffee’s flavors for a long shelf life.","brand":"Royal Coffee Inc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46217543614652,"sku":"3427097000050690742","price":394.19,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0720\/7672\/2364\/files\/Ethiopia-Sidama-1-Natural-Chire-Kumburta-Daniel-Tunsisa2.jpg?v=1788215606"},{"product_id":"39054","title":"Ethiopia Yirgacheffe 1 Natural Banko Chelchele - 39054 - 30.0 kg GrainPro Bags - SPOT SHANGHAI","description":"This coffee comes from smallholders in the Chelchele area, part of the Gedeb district in southern Gedeo Zone, where some of Ethiopia’s most complex and aromatic naturals come from year after year.   Gedeb is a unique area dense with coffee growers and processors. The coffee was processed at a central site in Banko Gotiti, one of the district’s most prolific coffee areas.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;strong\u0026gt;Gedeb's Significance and Coffee Profiles\u0026lt;\/strong\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\nThe district of Gedeb takes up the south-eastern corner of Ethiopia’s Gedeo Zone—a narrow section of plateau dense with savvy farmers whose coffee is known as “Yirgacheffe”, after the zone’s most famous district. Gedeb, however, is a terroir, history, and community all its own\u003cbr\u003e\nthat merits unique designation in our eyes. Coffees from this community, much closer to Guji Zone than the rest of Yirgacheffe, are often the most explosive cup profiles we see from anywhere in Ethiopia. Naturals tend to have perfume-like volatiles, and fully washed lots are often sparklingly clean and fruit candy-like in structure.\u003cbr\u003e\nThe municipality of Gedeb itself is a is a bustling outpost that links commerce between the Guji and Gedeo Zones, with an expansive network of processing stations who buy cherry from across zone borders. These processors (and we would agree) would argue their coffee profiles are not exactly Yirgacheffe, but something of their own. The communities surrounding Gedeb reach some of the highest growing elevations for coffee in the world and are a truly enchanting\u003cbr\u003e\npart of the long drive into Guji. Banko Gotiti is one of the communities in eastern Gedeb and includes numerous local cooperatives, as well as independent processing stations of various types, like this one.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;strong\u0026gt;EDN Ethiopian Coffee\u0026lt;\/strong\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\nEDN Ethiopian Coffee is an independent processor and exporter of coffee with processing sites in Guji, southern Yirgacheffe, and Sidama. The coffee was processed at the group’s site in Banko\u003cbr\u003e\nGotiti, one of Gedeb’s most prolific coffee producing areas.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nThe Banko Gotiti site employs over 200 people during harvest months to manage the continuous rotating and sorting of sundried cherry and parchment, as well as all other intake, payment, security, and inventory operations. Being a processor for EDN is much more than\u003cbr\u003e\ntransactional—they prefinance all their contributing farmers, provide educational resources, daily meals and lodging for staff. Amenities like these are both a gesture of care and acknowledgment of the potential instability inherent to smallscale farming. They are also strategic, since many processors in the area compete for farmer loyalty, and important for the sustainability of coffee and its workforce in the area.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;strong\u0026gt;Processing at Banko Gotiti\u0026lt;\/strong\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\nNaturals at the Banko Gotiti station are received as fresh-picked cherry on a daily basis throughout harvest. Cherry is sorted for defects and moved immediately to raised beds to dry.\u003cbr\u003e\nFor 2-4 weeks the cherry is rotated continuously in the sun until they have sufficiently dried.\u003cbr\u003e\nOnce fully dried, the cherry pods are moved to a cool, indoor storage environment to rest and condition—a process where moisture balances across the coffee and water activity stabilizes, to help lock in the coffee’s flavors for a long shelf life.","brand":"Royal Coffee Inc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46217543647420,"sku":"3427097000050690748","price":394.19,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0720\/7672\/2364\/files\/Ethiopia-Sidama-1-Natural-Chire-Kumburta-Daniel-Tunsisa2_3c900e70-5a35-438f-aecd-e48d97b081c5.jpg?v=1785534601"},{"product_id":"39058","title":"Ethiopia Yirgacheffe 1 Supernatural Banko Chelchele - 39058 - 30.0 kg GrainPro Bags - SPOT SHANGHAI","description":"\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;This is a smallholder-grown, centrally processed natural from Ethiopia’s Gedeb district. This corner of Yirgacheffe (officially the Gedeo Zone) is well-known for being dense with processors and having a uniquely heady, perfume-like terroir that sets it apart from the rest of Yirgacheffe. “Supernatural” is the name given to coffees like this whose cherry is fermented for a period of time prior to drying on raised beds, giving the final cup an acidic, fruity kick that conventional naturals typically can’t achieve.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Gedeb's Significance and Coffee Profiles\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;The district of Gedeb takes up the south-eastern corner of Ethiopia’s Gedeo Zone—a narrow section of plateau dense with savvy farmers whose coffee is known as “Yirgacheffe”, after the zone’s most famous district. Gedeb, however, is a terroir, history, and community all its own that merits unique designation in our eyes. Coffees from this community, much closer to Guji Zone than the rest of Yirgacheffe, are often the most explosive cup profiles we see from anywhere in Ethiopia. Naturals tend to have perfume-like volatiles, and fully washed lots are often sparklingly clean and fruit candy-like in structure.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;The municipality of Gedeb itself is a is a bustling outpost that links commerce between the Guji and Gedeo Zones, with an expansive network of processing stations who buy cherry from across zone borders. These processors (and we would agree) would argue their coffee profiles are not exactly Yirgacheffe, but something of their own. The communities surrounding Gedeb reach some of the highest growing elevations for coffee in the world and are a truly enchanting part of the long drive into Guji. Banko Chelchele is one of the communities in central Gedeb and includes numerous local cooperatives, as well as independent processing stations of various types, like this one. \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;EDN Ethiopian Coffee \u0026amp; Processing\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;EDN Ethiopian Coffee is an independent processor and exporter of coffee with processing sites in Guji, Gedeb, and Sidama. The Banko Chelchele site services the coffee produced by a few hundred outgrowers, each with an average of 1-2 hectares of diversified farmland. While not certified organic, farming methods among smallholders here have traditionally favored organic and regenerative practices, and all produce subsistence crops for the families who live on site.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;EDN processes coffee both as sundried natural and anaerobically-fermented “supernaturals”. “Supernaturals” such as this one are received at the processing station in the form of fresh-picked cherry. Cherry is sorted for defects and uniform ripeness and color and then transferred to the site’s fermentation tanks to ferment aerobically for 24 hours in full cherry. After this step cherries are moved directly to raised screen beds to dry in the sun. Drying takes 2-4 weeks depending on the local climate. After the coffee is fully dried it is transported to a local warehouse where it is rigorously assessed for quality and conditioned until it can be transported to Addis Ababa for final milling and export.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;During the harvest months the Chelchele site employs over 200 people to manage the continuous rotating and sorting of sundried cherry, as well as intake, payment, security, and inventory operations. All workers and their families receive educational resources, full daily meals, and on-site lodging during the harvest. They are also pursuing sustainability and social governance certifications to expand their global market.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;","brand":"Royal Coffee Inc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46217543712956,"sku":"3427097000050690774","price":396.18,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0720\/7672\/2364\/files\/rcf-coffee-info-1c6c5fbf887cab6a7de8f768ab90c988576f9910ad8042a71dc1e8eab178d50d.jpg?v=1789797638"},{"product_id":"39071","title":"Ethiopia Guji 1 Supernatural Hambela Buku Sayasa - 39071 - 30.0 kg GrainPro Bags - SPOT SHANGHAI","description":"\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;This is a smallholder-grown, centrally processed natural from western Guji zone. The Hambela district is well-known for excellent coffees and this lot, harvested in Buku Sayasa and processed at a nearby processing station in Chelchele, is no exception.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Welcome to Guji Zone\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Ethiopia’s Guji zone is a distant and heavily forested swath of land stretching southeast through the lower corner of the massive Oromia region. Guji is heavy with primary forest thanks to the Guji tribe, a part of Ethiopia’s vast and diverse Oromo nation, who have for generations organized and legislated to reduce mining and logging outfits in their area, in a struggle to conserve the land’s sacred canopy. Compared to other coffee-heavy regions, large parts of Guji feel like prehistoric backwoods. Coffee farms in many parts of Guji begin at 2000 meters in elevation and tend to climb from there. The highland farming communities in this part of the country can be at turns Edenic in their natural purity, and startlingly remote.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;EDN Ethiopian Coffee \u0026amp; Processing\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;EDN Ethiopian Coffee is an independent processor and exporter of coffee with processing sites in Guji, Gedeb, and Sidama. The coffee was processed at EDN’s local site in Chelchele community, part of the Gedeb district in southern Yirgacheffe, just across the border from Buku Sayasa. The Chelchele site services the coffee produced by a few hundred outgrowers, each with an average of 1-2 hectares of diversified farmland. While not certified organic, farming methods among smallholders here have traditionally favored organic and regenerative practices, and all produce subsistence crops for the families who live on site.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;EDN \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;processes coffee both as sundried natural and anaerobically-fermented naturals. Naturals such as this one are received at the processing station in the form of fresh-picked cherry. Cherry is then sorted for defects and uniform ripeness and color, and then placed to ferment in cold water for 24 hours. After fermentation, coffee cherry are immediately moved to raised screen beds to dry in the sun. Drying takes 3-4 weeks depending on the local climate. After the coffee is fully dried it is transported to a local warehouse where it is rigorously assessed for quality and conditioned until it can be transported to Addis Ababa for final milling and export.\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;During the harvest months the Chelchele site employs over 200 people to manage the continuous rotating and sorting of sundried cherry, as well as intake, payment, security, and inventory operations. All workers and their families receive educational resources, full daily meals, and on-site lodging during the harvest. They are also pursuing sustainability and social governance certifications to expand their global market.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Keeping Specialty Value Alive\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;The gorgeous arabica genetics of this area, blessed by some of the country’s healthiest biodiversity, could be easily ruined in transit, or homogenized into large regional blends with little traceability, both resulting in depleted pricing. One way for farmers to survive their price disadvantages was by having larger, more diversified family parcels, sometimes 20 acres or more, with equal emphasis on livestock or other crops for local markets as on coffee. But the vast majority have always been small and coffee-centered. Notably as well, cooperative unions, Ethiopia’s hallmark exporter organizations for small farmers, have little to no presence in this part of Guji. Were it not for private processing stations like EDN’s in Chelchele, many local growers in western Guji would have fewer options, worst of all being the sporadic, rogue coffee collector from Gedeo or farther, bringing low prices.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;","brand":"Royal Coffee Inc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46217543778492,"sku":"3427097000050690863","price":394.19,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0720\/7672\/2364\/files\/Ethiopia-Guji-1-Supernatural-Hambela-Buku-Sayasaback_d6b99b9c-1107-4fb6-bb3b-3a3248bbbf2b.jpg?v=1787861496"},{"product_id":"39082","title":"Ethiopia Gedeb 1 Natural Lalesa - 39082 - 30.0 kg GrainPro Bags - SPOT SHANGHAI","description":"This is a smallholder-grown, centrally processed natural from Ethiopia’s Gedeb district. This corner of Yirgacheffe (officially the Gedeo Zone) is well-known for being dense with processors and having a uniquely heady, perfume-like terroir that sets it apart from the rest of Yirgacheffe.  Lalesa, where the processing site is located, is part of the greater Gedeb district, known for its gifted processing climate and exquisite coffees, both washed and naturals.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;strong\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Gedeb and Its Coffee\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/strong\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;The district of Gedeb takes up the south-eastern corner of Ethiopia’s Gedeo Zone—a narrow section of plateau dense with savvy farmers whose coffee is known as “Yirgacheffe”, after the zone’s most famous district. Gedeb, however, is a terroir, history, and community all its own that merits unique designation in our eyes. Coffees from this community, much closer to Guji Zone than the rest of Yirgacheffe, are often the most explosive cup profiles we see from anywhere in Ethiopia. Naturals tend to have perfume-like volatiles, and fully washed lots are often sparklingly clean and fruit candy-like in structure.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Gedeb is a remote but impressively industrious area for coffee production. Half of its territory is planted with coffee. Until recently coffee exports were allowed only limited channels and most of the coffee grown in this area was sold by the Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union (YCFCU), consolidated under the wide-reaching Worka Cooperative, or sold anonymously through the Ethiopia Commodity Exchange (ECX). Today, however, there are increasing numbers of single farm owners and independent companies who are processing and exporting direct. \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nThe city of Gedeb itself is a is a bustling outpost that links commerce between the Guji and Gedeo Zones, with an expansive network of processing stations who buy cherry from across zone borders.  These processors (and we would agree) would argue their coffee profiles are not exactly Yirgacheffe, but something of their own. The communities surrounding Gedeb reach some of the highest growing elevations for coffee in the world and are a truly enchanting part of the long drive into Guji. Banko Gotiti is a large agricultural area East of Gedeb and includes union cooperative members that are cooperative-affiliated, as well as independent washing stations of various types, many of which, like this one, are simply named after the municipality in which they’re located.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;strong\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;EDN Ethiopian Coffee \u0026amp; Processing\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/strong\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;EDN Ethiopian Coffee is an independent processor and exporter of coffee with processing sites in Guji, Gedeb, and Sidama. The Banko Lalesa site services the coffee produced by 350-400 hundred outgrowers, each with an average of 1-2 hectares of diversified farmland. While not certified organic, farming methods among smallholders here have traditionally favored organic and regenerative practices, and all produce subsistence crops for the families who live on site. \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nBanko Lalesa employs over 150 individuals during harvest time to manage all processing and financial operations. During harvest, cherry is received every day. Upon intake it’s inspected for ripeness and uniformity, washed clean of debris, and then moved immediately to one of the station’s special covered drying beds, located beneath a kind of greenhouse roof that blocks direct sun and slows the drying process significantly. Depending on the immediate climate, drying naturals this way typically takes 14-28 days, during which cherry is continuously rotated and monitored for any signs of uneven drying, defect, or damage. \u0026lt;span\u0026gt;After the coffee is fully dried, it is transported to a local warehouse where it is rigorously assessed for quality and conditioned until it can be transported to Addis Ababa for final milling and export. \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;","brand":"Royal Coffee Inc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46217583493308,"sku":"3427097000050690942","price":394.86,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0720\/7672\/2364\/files\/rcf-coffee-info-72cb9437feae736c84a822721940f12c823b4fd087cf16e9cbcc3903a38a3eb7.jpg?v=1789899739"},{"product_id":"40528","title":"Ethiopia Guji 3 Natural Hambela - 40528 - Ecotact Bags - SPOT RCWHSE","description":"\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;This is a smallholder-grown, centrally processed natural from western Guji zone. The Hambela district is well-known for excellent coffees and this lot, harvested in Buku Sayasa and processed at a nearby processing station in Chelchele, is no exception.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Welcome to Guji Zone\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Ethiopia’s Guji zone is a distant and heavily forested swath of land stretching southeast through the lower corner of the massive Oromia region. Guji is heavy with primary forest thanks to the Guji tribe, a part of Ethiopia’s vast and diverse Oromo nation, who have for generations organized and legislated to reduce mining and logging outfits in their area, in a struggle to conserve the land’s sacred canopy. Compared to other coffee-heavy regions, large parts of Guji feel like prehistoric backwoods. Coffee farms in many parts of Guji begin at 2000 meters in elevation and tend to climb from there. The highland farming communities in this part of the country can be at turns Edenic in their natural purity, and startlingly remote.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;EDN Ethiopian Coffee \u0026amp; Processing\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;EDN Ethiopian Coffee is an independent processor and exporter of coffee with processing sites in Guji, Gedeb, and Sidama. The coffee was processed at EDN’s local site in Chelchele community, part of the Gedeb district in southern Yirgacheffe, just across the border from Buku Sayasa. The Chelchele site services the coffee produced by a few hundred outgrowers, each with an average of 1-2 hectares of diversified farmland. While not certified organic, farming methods among smallholders here have traditionally favored organic and regenerative practices, and all produce subsistence crops for the families who live on site.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;EDN \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;processes coffee both as sundried natural and anaerobically-fermented naturals. Naturals such as this one are received at the processing station in the form of fresh-picked cherry. Cherry is then sorted for defects and uniform ripeness and color, and then placed to ferment in cold water for 24 hours. After fermentation, coffee cherry are immediately moved to raised screen beds to dry in the sun. Drying takes 3-4 weeks depending on the local climate. After the coffee is fully dried it is transported to a local warehouse where it is rigorously assessed for quality and conditioned until it can be transported to Addis Ababa for final milling and export.\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;During the harvest months the Chelchele site employs over 200 people to manage the continuous rotating and sorting of sundried cherry, as well as intake, payment, security, and inventory operations. All workers and their families receive educational resources, full daily meals, and on-site lodging during the harvest. They are also pursuing sustainability and social governance certifications to expand their global market.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Keeping Specialty Value Alive\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;The gorgeous arabica genetics of this area, blessed by some of the country’s healthiest biodiversity, could be easily ruined in transit, or homogenized into large regional blends with little traceability, both resulting in depleted pricing. One way for farmers to survive their price disadvantages was by having larger, more diversified family parcels, sometimes 20 acres or more, with equal emphasis on livestock or other crops for local markets as on coffee. But the vast majority have always been small and coffee-centered. Notably as well, cooperative unions, Ethiopia’s hallmark exporter organizations for small farmers, have little to no presence in this part of Guji. Were it not for private processing stations like EDN’s in Chelchele, many local growers in western Guji would have fewer options, worst of all being the sporadic, rogue coffee collector from Gedeo or farther, bringing low prices.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;","brand":"Royal Coffee Inc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46218073800892,"sku":"3427097000054096852","price":703.88,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0720\/7672\/2364\/files\/Ethiopia-Guji-1-Supernatural-Hambela-Buku-Sayasaback_ccdd2aff-1815-40db-9e0e-7632b42d7d6e.jpg?v=1787882014"},{"product_id":"39879","title":"Ethiopia Yirgacheffe 1 Washed Double Ferment Banko Taratu - 39879 - Ecotact Bags - SPOT SHANGHAI","description":"This coffee was grown and processed in Gedeb, a remote trading town at the southern end of the world-famous Gedeo zone, a small and high-elevation plateau also known as Yirgacheffe. The arabica genetics and growing conditions of this area are historic to coffee and are well known for producing excellent, complex and berry-forward washed coffees, like this one.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;strong\u0026gt;Gedeb's Significance and Coffee Profiles\u0026lt;\/strong\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nThe district of Gedeb takes up the south-eastern corner of Ethiopia’s Gedeo Zone. While seemingly wild and forested, the Gedeb district is actually teeming with coffee growers and processing stations. Gedeb, in our eyes, is a terroir, history, and community all its own that merits unique designation. Coffees from this region, much closer to Guji Zone than the rest of Yirgacheffe, are often the most explosive cup profiles we see from anywhere in Ethiopia. Naturals tend to have perfume-like volatiles, and fully washed lots are often sparklingly clean and fruit candy-like in structure.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nThe municipality of Gedeb itself is a bustling outpost that links commerce between the Guji and Gedeo Zones, with an expansive network of processing stations who buy cherry from across zone borders. These processors would argue (and we would agree) that their coffee profiles are not exactly Yirgacheffe, nor exactly Guji, but something of their own. The communities surrounding Gedeb reach some of the highest growing elevations for coffee in the world and are a truly enchanting part of the long drive through Ethiopia's south. Banko Taratu is one of the communities in eastern Gedeb and includes numerous local cooperatives, as well as independent processing stations of various types, like this one.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;strong\u0026gt;EDN Ethiopian Coffee Export PLC\u0026lt;\/strong\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nThis lot comes by way of the independent Banko Taratu processing site owned and operated by EDN Coffee Export PLC, who manages a total of 4 different sites throughout southern Gedeo zone. EDN’s founder, Michael Gebreselassie, spent many years living in the United States (and working at the Port of Oakland, one of the busiest coffee ports in the country) and watching the popularity of Ethiopia’s coffee continue to grow. Feeling certain that the supply chain could be improved at the farm level, Michael founded EDN in 2018.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nThe Banko Taratu processing site receives cherries from farms up to 2300 meters in elevation, some of the highest in Ethiopia, and indeed the world. The site relies on a team of brothers, Seleshi and Degafe Beyene, to manage the cherry collection from all contributing growers, as well as 190 staff members who manage the day-to-day processing during harvest.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nThe double fermentation processed coffees are sorted by hand on arrival, then floated to remove less dense and damaged cherries.  Next the sorted cherries are depulped, fermented between 12 to 24 hours and washed. Next, coffee is placed in tanks for a second fermentation between 12 to 24 hours and then taken to raised beds to fully dry. Finished dried parchment is stored locally to rest and allow internal moisture to equilibrate, and then trucked to Addis Ababa to be dehulled and for additional sorting and preparation for export.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nDespite being a young company, EDN has already begun investigating novel processing equipment and techniques. The company is experimenting with an electronic color sorter for precise cherry selection, something that has existed as a prototype for a number of years but has yet to really penetrate into the producer industry. In addition, the company is working with honey processing and anaerobic fermentation techniques across their processing sites, continuously chasing a portfolio of coffee profiles they believe will best serve their farmers and help the industry achieve new ideals.","brand":"Royal Coffee Inc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46218818289852,"sku":"3427097000052633409","price":394.86,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0720\/7672\/2364\/files\/Ethiopia-Yirgacheffe-1-Washed-Banko-TaratuBACK-scaled_48e8aeb1-cc15-4378-852d-ef93c9b9f244.jpg?v=1788215607"},{"product_id":"40237","title":"Ethiopia Gesha 2 Washed - 40237 - GrainPro Bags - SPOT SHANGHAI","description":null,"brand":"Royal Coffee Inc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46219501600956,"sku":"3427097000053427860","price":648.17,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0720\/7672\/2364\/files\/rcf-coffee-info-2cf1f2650c40ea2bd717709455d222a7bb7cf0b1a4fe52d7d6837851e2716336.jpg?v=1789808484"},{"product_id":"40595","title":"Ethiopia Yirgacheffe 2 Washed Top Idido - 40595 - 30.0 kg Ecotact Bags - SPOT SHANGHAI","description":"Idido is a private washing station located just north of the town of Yirga Chefe, in the heart of the coveted Gedeo Zone—the narrow section of highland plateau dense with savvy farmers and fiercely competitive processors whose coffee is known the world over as “Yirgacheffe”. The Gedeo region is named after the Gedeo people who are indigenous to this area. As a coffee terroir, Yirgacheffe has for decades been considered a benchmark for beauty and complexity in arabica coffee—known for being beguilingly ornate and jasmine-like when fully washed, and seductively punchy and sweet when sundried--and hardly requires an introduction.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nThe Idido station is privately-owned and not affiliated with the Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union (YCFCU). It was established in 1998 and has been owned and operated by Ranger Industry and Trading PLC since 2017. Idido’s contributing farmers number over 800, and average about four acres of farmland each. Their fully washed lots are floral and brisk, the result of careful fermenting, sorting, and drying routines executed to perfection throughout the dramatic temperature fluctuations of Yirgacheffe’s unique high-elevation climate. Coffees are typically dried for 10-15 days on raised beds and frequently covered\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nduring the hottest hours of the afternoon, when solar radiation is at its most intense and threatens to split the coffee’s brittle parchment layer.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nIdido contributes financially to local schools each harvest to support their farmers’ families. Additionally, after finished coffees are sold, the team at Ranger Industry and Trading PLC distributes a second payment of 1 birr per kilogram of cherry to each farmer, a profit share equivalent to an additional 5-8% of smallholder revenue for the harvest season.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nPrivate processors like Idido are a thing to behold. It’s a tough business being a private processor in Gedeo, as the sheer density of competition among washing stations tends to push cherry prices as high as double throughout a single harvest, and privates often don’t have the backing of a larger union to secure financing, regulate cherry prices, or bring export costs down with centralized milling and marketing. Successful private washing stations like Idido, then, need to be not only standout quality processors to stay afloat; they must also be excellent business developers with connections and community standing, in order to continue winning the business of farmers and buyers alike, and stay afloat for the long term.","brand":"Royal Coffee Inc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46219657642172,"sku":"3427097000054316109","price":343.27,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0720\/7672\/2364\/files\/Ethiopia-Yirgacheffe-2-Washed-Top-back-scaled_de2b92d3-b772-4f4b-bbbf-1aa8f3d0e23d.jpg?v=1788188660"},{"product_id":"40271","title":"Ethiopia Guji 3 Natural - 40271 - SPOT RCWHSE","description":"\u0026lt;div\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Royal buys grade 3 naturals from Guji for their balanced character that typically includes dried fruit flavors, creamy textures, earth and chocolate, along with a typically great price point relative to other regions in southern Ethiopia.  Grade 3 naturals are sourced from central processing sites, large estates, and often a combination of the two, in which “outgrowers”, or local smallholders, sell to large estates who process cherry on site.  \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Brief History \u0026amp; Flavor Profile\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Ethiopia’s Guji zone is a distant and heavily forested swath of land stretching southeast through the lower corner of the massive Oromia region.  Guji is heavy with primary forest thanks to the Guji tribe, a part of Ethiopia’s vast and diverse Oromo nation, who have for generations organized and legislated to reduce mining and logging outfits in their area, in a struggle to conserve the land’s sacred canopy.  \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Compared to other coffee-heavy regions, large parts of Guji feel like prehistoric backwoods.  Coffee farms in many parts of Guji begin at 2000 meters in elevation and tend to climb from there.  The highland farming communities in this part of the country can be at turns Edenic in their natural purity, and startlingly remote. \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Processing Detail \u0026amp; Quality Control\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Cherry is received at all times during the long harvest days.  Once received, cherries are sorted for ripeness and consistency and moved directly to raised drying tables where they are spread in a single layer to dry in the sun.  The full drying process normally takes 3-6 weeks depending on the local climate at the time, and the final resting moisture content of the fruit is 11.5%.  \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Once cherries have been thoroughly dried and rested, the dried fruit is hulled from the coffee seed in local mills, and then transferred to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital.  In Addis the coffee is dry-milled by exporters who use modern color sorting equipment and often fleets of trained workers who repeatedly hand-sort the coffee to the correct grade for export. \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;br \/\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/div\u0026gt;","brand":"Royal Coffee Inc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46219947638972,"sku":"3427097000053527225","price":674.78,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0720\/7672\/2364\/files\/Ethiopia-Guji-3-NaturalBACK_0f17bea3-901f-4012-8ac1-46280ba5a083.jpg?v=1788217528"},{"product_id":"40273","title":"Ethiopia Guji 3 Natural - 40273 - SPOT RCWHSE","description":"\u0026lt;div\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Royal buys grade 3 naturals from Guji for their balanced character that typically includes dried fruit flavors, creamy textures, earth and chocolate, along with a typically great price point relative to other regions in southern Ethiopia.  Grade 3 naturals are sourced from central processing sites, large estates, and often a combination of the two, in which “outgrowers”, or local smallholders, sell to large estates who process cherry on site.  \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Brief History \u0026amp; Flavor Profile\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Ethiopia’s Guji zone is a distant and heavily forested swath of land stretching southeast through the lower corner of the massive Oromia region.  Guji is heavy with primary forest thanks to the Guji tribe, a part of Ethiopia’s vast and diverse Oromo nation, who have for generations organized and legislated to reduce mining and logging outfits in their area, in a struggle to conserve the land’s sacred canopy.  \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Compared to other coffee-heavy regions, large parts of Guji feel like prehistoric backwoods.  Coffee farms in many parts of Guji begin at 2000 meters in elevation and tend to climb from there.  The highland farming communities in this part of the country can be at turns Edenic in their natural purity, and startlingly remote. \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Processing Detail \u0026amp; Quality Control\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Cherry is received at all times during the long harvest days.  Once received, cherries are sorted for ripeness and consistency and moved directly to raised drying tables where they are spread in a single layer to dry in the sun.  The full drying process normally takes 3-6 weeks depending on the local climate at the time, and the final resting moisture content of the fruit is 11.5%.  \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Once cherries have been thoroughly dried and rested, the dried fruit is hulled from the coffee seed in local mills, and then transferred to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital.  In Addis the coffee is dry-milled by exporters who use modern color sorting equipment and often fleets of trained workers who repeatedly hand-sort the coffee to the correct grade for export. \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;br \/\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/div\u0026gt;","brand":"Royal Coffee Inc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46219948097724,"sku":"3427097000053527238","price":694.16,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0720\/7672\/2364\/files\/Ethiopia-Guji-3-NaturalBACK_f07b3ba2-694c-484f-b2c1-e58958f94923.jpg?v=1788217532"},{"product_id":"40276","title":"Ethiopia Guji 3 Natural - 40276 - February 2027 Shipment - RCWHSE","description":"\u0026lt;div\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Royal buys grade 3 naturals from Guji for their balanced character that typically includes dried fruit flavors, creamy textures, earth and chocolate, along with a typically great price point relative to other regions in southern Ethiopia.  Grade 3 naturals are sourced from central processing sites, large estates, and often a combination of the two, in which “outgrowers”, or local smallholders, sell to large estates who process cherry on site.  \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Brief History \u0026amp; Flavor Profile\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Ethiopia’s Guji zone is a distant and heavily forested swath of land stretching southeast through the lower corner of the massive Oromia region.  Guji is heavy with primary forest thanks to the Guji tribe, a part of Ethiopia’s vast and diverse Oromo nation, who have for generations organized and legislated to reduce mining and logging outfits in their area, in a struggle to conserve the land’s sacred canopy.  \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Compared to other coffee-heavy regions, large parts of Guji feel like prehistoric backwoods.  Coffee farms in many parts of Guji begin at 2000 meters in elevation and tend to climb from there.  The highland farming communities in this part of the country can be at turns Edenic in their natural purity, and startlingly remote. \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Processing Detail \u0026amp; Quality Control\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Cherry is received at all times during the long harvest days.  Once received, cherries are sorted for ripeness and consistency and moved directly to raised drying tables where they are spread in a single layer to dry in the sun.  The full drying process normally takes 3-6 weeks depending on the local climate at the time, and the final resting moisture content of the fruit is 11.5%.  \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Once cherries have been thoroughly dried and rested, the dried fruit is hulled from the coffee seed in local mills, and then transferred to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital.  In Addis the coffee is dry-milled by exporters who use modern color sorting equipment and often fleets of trained workers who repeatedly hand-sort the coffee to the correct grade for export. \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;br \/\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/div\u0026gt;","brand":"Royal Coffee Inc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46219949899964,"sku":"3427097000053527255","price":636.27,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0720\/7672\/2364\/files\/Ethiopia-Guji-3-NaturalBACK_f53e0b27-10bd-417e-a299-373ad9f59b78.jpg?v=1788217534"},{"product_id":"36051","title":"Ethiopia Guji 1 Natural Uraga Suke - 36051 - GrainPro Bags - SPOT SHANGHAI","description":"\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;The Guji zone is vastly under-represented in terms of processing capacity compared to nearby Gedeo or Sidama zones. Like most of southern Ethiopia, Guji is naturally gifted, heavily forested, and has coffee growing at staggeringly high elevations relative to the rest of the world. This is a natural processed coffee from one of Tracon Trading’s processing sites in the Uraga district, in the western part of Guji Zone, which borders parts of central Gedeo zone (Yirgacheffe).\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Welcome to Guji\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Ethiopia’s Guji zone is a distant and heavily forested swath of land stretching southeast through the lower corner of the massive Oromia region. Guji is heavy with primary forest thanks to the Guji tribe, a part of Ethiopia’s vast and diverse Oromo nation, who have for generations organized and legislated to reduce mining and logging outfits in their area, in a struggle to conserve the land’s sacred canopy. Compared to other coffee-heavy regions, large parts of Guji feel like prehistoric backwoods. Coffee farms in many parts of Guji begin at 2000 meters in elevation and tend to climb from there. The highland farming communities in this part of the country can be at turns Edenic in their natural purity, and startlingly remote.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Guji’s coffees, when well-produced, are often juicier and jammier in balance than nearby Yirgacheffe, which is known for more floral or herbaceous and lemony coffees. High elevation naturals here in particular can be well-defined and hard candy-like in balance with flavors of berry or stone fruit, red wine, and rose.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Uraga Suke Processing Station and Processing\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;The Uraga Suke processing station is owned and operated by Tracon Coffee, an independent exporter who manages various processing sites throughout southern Ethiopia. \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Naturals at Uraga Suke are processed simply and with great attention to detail. Fresh-picked cherry is delivered to the station each day by contributing farmers. On arrival the cherry is hand-sorted and washed, to ensure the station is only accepting uniform ripeness and cleanliness. Once sorting is complete, cherry is weighed and logged, and moved directly to raised beds to dry, a process that can take 8-25 days depending on the weather—which can fluctuate in temperate quite a lot being a forested environment at such high altitude. During the drying period the coffee is constantly rotated during the day and covered at night to prevent the area’s humidity from settling on the cherry’s skin. Fully dried cherry pods are then stored for multiple weeks to stabilize moisture content and water activity, then hulled locally and transported to Addis Ababa for final milling and export.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;","brand":"Royal Coffee Inc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46224102785212,"sku":"3427097000037951048","price":670.66,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0720\/7672\/2364\/files\/Ethiopia-Guji-1-Natural-Uraga-GrainProback_befe7796-47b4-4489-9f98-fe3fb5c08f29.jpg?v=1785303896"},{"product_id":"40307","title":"ETHIOPIA SIDAMA 3 NATURAL FT-FLO ORGANIC SHANTA GOLBA - 40307 - GrainPro Bags - SPOT RCWHSE","description":"\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Shanta Golba is one of the primary cooperatives belonging to the Sidama Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union (SCFCU), one of Ethiopia’s largest and best-known exporting organizations. SCFCU is robust; there are 53 member cooperatives in the union and over 80,000 member households throughout the Sidama Zone. Harvest in Sidama occurs slightly earlier than in the more southern zones of Gedeo and Guji, and as a result the fully washed lots from here are usually the year’s very first top quality arrivals from anywhere in Ethiopia.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Shanta Golba carries out activities that often go unnoticed but are crucial for small producers, including training producers in best organic practices and investing in basic infrastructure needs like road improvements and establishing local warehouses. SCFCU focuses on establishing a certification process for local cooperatives, creating micro-credit for producers and investing in social programs on a larger scale. Environmental training programs, healthcare initiatives, life insurance, and educational opportunities are just some of the ways SCFCU strives to improve the quality of life for coffee producers and their families.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;There are 1267 farmer members belonging to the Shanta Golba cooperative. Farmers in this area are truly smallholders, averaging less than a hectare of coffee cultivation each, in which they also produce vegetables for the household and local sale. The coop processes coffee at 2 different sites, in the Bensa district communities of Shantawene and Sadeware.  \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Unlike in most of Sidama, Shanta Golba produces natural process coffees, and willingly invests in the necessary resources to pull this off. One of which is drying space: full coffee cherries are greater in volume than the seeds alone, not to mention naturals need to dry slowly in a single layer, which, when combined, necessitate many more raised beds for an equal output of coffee. The other is labor: Shanta Golba employs over 100 people at the station to oversee the constant maintenance of both parchment and cherry drying. Once fully dried and cured, final milling for export is completed at the Union mill in Addis Ababa.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Shanta Golba was founded in 1976 and functioned independently, as did many coops and processing groups back then, for lack of a greater export network. This lasted until the late 90s and until then relied largely on a system of local collectors and buyers, who would then deliver consolidated cherry to processors or export auctions. The formation of cooperative unions in Ethiopia allowed for voting power and higher farm returns from the direct exportation that unions would be capable of. Certifications, as well, easily earned through the organic methods of Ethiopia’s smallholders and a conscious business plan, could be secured for price protection and marketing purposes, helping vast populations of smallholders gain small but meaningful leverage in the global marketplace that remains to this day.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;","brand":"Royal Coffee Inc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46224659153084,"sku":"3427097000053575118","price":795.96,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0720\/7672\/2364\/files\/ethioftoshantagolba3natlot2gpback1_bbeb1d37-b59c-4e8b-836e-d3d1679f6b0d.jpg?v=1788218597"},{"product_id":"40656","title":"Ethiopia Guji 3 Natural Hambela - 40656 - Ecotact Bags - ETA: Nov 08, 2026 - RCWHSE","description":"\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;This is a smallholder-grown, centrally processed natural from western Guji zone. The Hambela district is well-known for excellent coffees and this lot, harvested in Buku Sayasa and processed at a nearby processing station in Chelchele, is no exception.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Welcome to Guji Zone\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Ethiopia’s Guji zone is a distant and heavily forested swath of land stretching southeast through the lower corner of the massive Oromia region. Guji is heavy with primary forest thanks to the Guji tribe, a part of Ethiopia’s vast and diverse Oromo nation, who have for generations organized and legislated to reduce mining and logging outfits in their area, in a struggle to conserve the land’s sacred canopy. Compared to other coffee-heavy regions, large parts of Guji feel like prehistoric backwoods. Coffee farms in many parts of Guji begin at 2000 meters in elevation and tend to climb from there. The highland farming communities in this part of the country can be at turns Edenic in their natural purity, and startlingly remote.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;EDN Ethiopian Coffee \u0026amp; Processing\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;EDN Ethiopian Coffee is an independent processor and exporter of coffee with processing sites in Guji, Gedeb, and Sidama. The coffee was processed at EDN’s local site in Chelchele community, part of the Gedeb district in southern Yirgacheffe, just across the border from Buku Sayasa. The Chelchele site services the coffee produced by a few hundred outgrowers, each with an average of 1-2 hectares of diversified farmland. While not certified organic, farming methods among smallholders here have traditionally favored organic and regenerative practices, and all produce subsistence crops for the families who live on site.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;EDN \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;processes coffee both as sundried natural and anaerobically-fermented naturals. Naturals such as this one are received at the processing station in the form of fresh-picked cherry. Cherry is then sorted for defects and uniform ripeness and color, and then placed to ferment in cold water for 24 hours. After fermentation, coffee cherry are immediately moved to raised screen beds to dry in the sun. Drying takes 3-4 weeks depending on the local climate. After the coffee is fully dried it is transported to a local warehouse where it is rigorously assessed for quality and conditioned until it can be transported to Addis Ababa for final milling and export.\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;During the harvest months the Chelchele site employs over 200 people to manage the continuous rotating and sorting of sundried cherry, as well as intake, payment, security, and inventory operations. All workers and their families receive educational resources, full daily meals, and on-site lodging during the harvest. They are also pursuing sustainability and social governance certifications to expand their global market.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Keeping Specialty Value Alive\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;The gorgeous arabica genetics of this area, blessed by some of the country’s healthiest biodiversity, could be easily ruined in transit, or homogenized into large regional blends with little traceability, both resulting in depleted pricing. One way for farmers to survive their price disadvantages was by having larger, more diversified family parcels, sometimes 20 acres or more, with equal emphasis on livestock or other crops for local markets as on coffee. But the vast majority have always been small and coffee-centered. Notably as well, cooperative unions, Ethiopia’s hallmark exporter organizations for small farmers, have little to no presence in this part of Guji. Were it not for private processing stations like EDN’s in Chelchele, many local growers in western Guji would have fewer options, worst of all being the sporadic, rogue coffee collector from Gedeo or farther, bringing low prices.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;","brand":"Royal Coffee Inc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46224691036348,"sku":"3427097000054449413","price":678.6,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0720\/7672\/2364\/files\/Ethiopia-Guji-1-Supernatural-Hambela-Buku-Sayasaback_9de99417-7173-4860-9a37-9db6ca2e13c8.jpg?v=1787945268"},{"product_id":"40657","title":"Ethiopia Guji 3 Natural Hambela - 40657 - Ecotact Bags - ETA: Nov 08, 2026 - RCWHSE","description":"\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;This is a smallholder-grown, centrally processed natural from western Guji zone. The Hambela district is well-known for excellent coffees and this lot, harvested in Buku Sayasa and processed at a nearby processing station in Chelchele, is no exception.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Welcome to Guji Zone\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Ethiopia’s Guji zone is a distant and heavily forested swath of land stretching southeast through the lower corner of the massive Oromia region. Guji is heavy with primary forest thanks to the Guji tribe, a part of Ethiopia’s vast and diverse Oromo nation, who have for generations organized and legislated to reduce mining and logging outfits in their area, in a struggle to conserve the land’s sacred canopy. Compared to other coffee-heavy regions, large parts of Guji feel like prehistoric backwoods. Coffee farms in many parts of Guji begin at 2000 meters in elevation and tend to climb from there. The highland farming communities in this part of the country can be at turns Edenic in their natural purity, and startlingly remote.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;EDN Ethiopian Coffee \u0026amp; Processing\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;EDN Ethiopian Coffee is an independent processor and exporter of coffee with processing sites in Guji, Gedeb, and Sidama. The coffee was processed at EDN’s local site in Chelchele community, part of the Gedeb district in southern Yirgacheffe, just across the border from Buku Sayasa. The Chelchele site services the coffee produced by a few hundred outgrowers, each with an average of 1-2 hectares of diversified farmland. While not certified organic, farming methods among smallholders here have traditionally favored organic and regenerative practices, and all produce subsistence crops for the families who live on site.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;EDN \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;processes coffee both as sundried natural and anaerobically-fermented naturals. Naturals such as this one are received at the processing station in the form of fresh-picked cherry. Cherry is then sorted for defects and uniform ripeness and color, and then placed to ferment in cold water for 24 hours. After fermentation, coffee cherry are immediately moved to raised screen beds to dry in the sun. Drying takes 3-4 weeks depending on the local climate. After the coffee is fully dried it is transported to a local warehouse where it is rigorously assessed for quality and conditioned until it can be transported to Addis Ababa for final milling and export.\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;During the harvest months the Chelchele site employs over 200 people to manage the continuous rotating and sorting of sundried cherry, as well as intake, payment, security, and inventory operations. All workers and their families receive educational resources, full daily meals, and on-site lodging during the harvest. They are also pursuing sustainability and social governance certifications to expand their global market.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Keeping Specialty Value Alive\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;The gorgeous arabica genetics of this area, blessed by some of the country’s healthiest biodiversity, could be easily ruined in transit, or homogenized into large regional blends with little traceability, both resulting in depleted pricing. One way for farmers to survive their price disadvantages was by having larger, more diversified family parcels, sometimes 20 acres or more, with equal emphasis on livestock or other crops for local markets as on coffee. But the vast majority have always been small and coffee-centered. Notably as well, cooperative unions, Ethiopia’s hallmark exporter organizations for small farmers, have little to no presence in this part of Guji. Were it not for private processing stations like EDN’s in Chelchele, many local growers in western Guji would have fewer options, worst of all being the sporadic, rogue coffee collector from Gedeo or farther, bringing low prices.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;","brand":"Royal Coffee Inc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46224691658940,"sku":"3427097000054449421","price":678.6,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0720\/7672\/2364\/files\/Ethiopia-Guji-1-Supernatural-Hambela-Buku-Sayasaback_6d55a6b4-0a89-46ac-9261-0192e52670e9.jpg?v=1787945278"},{"product_id":"40658","title":"Ethiopia Guji 3 Natural Hambela - 40658 - Ecotact Bags - ETA: Nov 08, 2026 - RCWHSE","description":"\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;This is a smallholder-grown, centrally processed natural from western Guji zone. The Hambela district is well-known for excellent coffees and this lot, harvested in Buku Sayasa and processed at a nearby processing station in Chelchele, is no exception.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Welcome to Guji Zone\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Ethiopia’s Guji zone is a distant and heavily forested swath of land stretching southeast through the lower corner of the massive Oromia region. Guji is heavy with primary forest thanks to the Guji tribe, a part of Ethiopia’s vast and diverse Oromo nation, who have for generations organized and legislated to reduce mining and logging outfits in their area, in a struggle to conserve the land’s sacred canopy. Compared to other coffee-heavy regions, large parts of Guji feel like prehistoric backwoods. Coffee farms in many parts of Guji begin at 2000 meters in elevation and tend to climb from there. The highland farming communities in this part of the country can be at turns Edenic in their natural purity, and startlingly remote.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;EDN Ethiopian Coffee \u0026amp; Processing\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;EDN Ethiopian Coffee is an independent processor and exporter of coffee with processing sites in Guji, Gedeb, and Sidama. The coffee was processed at EDN’s local site in Chelchele community, part of the Gedeb district in southern Yirgacheffe, just across the border from Buku Sayasa. The Chelchele site services the coffee produced by a few hundred outgrowers, each with an average of 1-2 hectares of diversified farmland. While not certified organic, farming methods among smallholders here have traditionally favored organic and regenerative practices, and all produce subsistence crops for the families who live on site.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;EDN \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;processes coffee both as sundried natural and anaerobically-fermented naturals. Naturals such as this one are received at the processing station in the form of fresh-picked cherry. Cherry is then sorted for defects and uniform ripeness and color, and then placed to ferment in cold water for 24 hours. After fermentation, coffee cherry are immediately moved to raised screen beds to dry in the sun. Drying takes 3-4 weeks depending on the local climate. After the coffee is fully dried it is transported to a local warehouse where it is rigorously assessed for quality and conditioned until it can be transported to Addis Ababa for final milling and export.\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;During the harvest months the Chelchele site employs over 200 people to manage the continuous rotating and sorting of sundried cherry, as well as intake, payment, security, and inventory operations. All workers and their families receive educational resources, full daily meals, and on-site lodging during the harvest. They are also pursuing sustainability and social governance certifications to expand their global market.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Keeping Specialty Value Alive\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;The gorgeous arabica genetics of this area, blessed by some of the country’s healthiest biodiversity, could be easily ruined in transit, or homogenized into large regional blends with little traceability, both resulting in depleted pricing. One way for farmers to survive their price disadvantages was by having larger, more diversified family parcels, sometimes 20 acres or more, with equal emphasis on livestock or other crops for local markets as on coffee. But the vast majority have always been small and coffee-centered. Notably as well, cooperative unions, Ethiopia’s hallmark exporter organizations for small farmers, have little to no presence in this part of Guji. Were it not for private processing stations like EDN’s in Chelchele, many local growers in western Guji would have fewer options, worst of all being the sporadic, rogue coffee collector from Gedeo or farther, bringing low prices.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;","brand":"Royal Coffee Inc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46224692674748,"sku":"3427097000054449425","price":678.6,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0720\/7672\/2364\/files\/Ethiopia-Guji-1-Supernatural-Hambela-Buku-Sayasaback_380cdbb4-731c-4b76-8ce3-3b479b7df543.jpg?v=1787945290"},{"product_id":"40659","title":"Ethiopia Guji 3 Natural Hambela - 40659 - Ecotact Bags - ETA: Nov 08, 2026 - RCWHSE","description":"\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;This is a smallholder-grown, centrally processed natural from western Guji zone. The Hambela district is well-known for excellent coffees and this lot, harvested in Buku Sayasa and processed at a nearby processing station in Chelchele, is no exception.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Welcome to Guji Zone\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Ethiopia’s Guji zone is a distant and heavily forested swath of land stretching southeast through the lower corner of the massive Oromia region. Guji is heavy with primary forest thanks to the Guji tribe, a part of Ethiopia’s vast and diverse Oromo nation, who have for generations organized and legislated to reduce mining and logging outfits in their area, in a struggle to conserve the land’s sacred canopy. Compared to other coffee-heavy regions, large parts of Guji feel like prehistoric backwoods. Coffee farms in many parts of Guji begin at 2000 meters in elevation and tend to climb from there. The highland farming communities in this part of the country can be at turns Edenic in their natural purity, and startlingly remote.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;EDN Ethiopian Coffee \u0026amp; Processing\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;EDN Ethiopian Coffee is an independent processor and exporter of coffee with processing sites in Guji, Gedeb, and Sidama. The coffee was processed at EDN’s local site in Chelchele community, part of the Gedeb district in southern Yirgacheffe, just across the border from Buku Sayasa. The Chelchele site services the coffee produced by a few hundred outgrowers, each with an average of 1-2 hectares of diversified farmland. While not certified organic, farming methods among smallholders here have traditionally favored organic and regenerative practices, and all produce subsistence crops for the families who live on site.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;EDN \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;processes coffee both as sundried natural and anaerobically-fermented naturals. Naturals such as this one are received at the processing station in the form of fresh-picked cherry. Cherry is then sorted for defects and uniform ripeness and color, and then placed to ferment in cold water for 24 hours. After fermentation, coffee cherry are immediately moved to raised screen beds to dry in the sun. Drying takes 3-4 weeks depending on the local climate. After the coffee is fully dried it is transported to a local warehouse where it is rigorously assessed for quality and conditioned until it can be transported to Addis Ababa for final milling and export.\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;During the harvest months the Chelchele site employs over 200 people to manage the continuous rotating and sorting of sundried cherry, as well as intake, payment, security, and inventory operations. All workers and their families receive educational resources, full daily meals, and on-site lodging during the harvest. They are also pursuing sustainability and social governance certifications to expand their global market.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Keeping Specialty Value Alive\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;The gorgeous arabica genetics of this area, blessed by some of the country’s healthiest biodiversity, could be easily ruined in transit, or homogenized into large regional blends with little traceability, both resulting in depleted pricing. One way for farmers to survive their price disadvantages was by having larger, more diversified family parcels, sometimes 20 acres or more, with equal emphasis on livestock or other crops for local markets as on coffee. But the vast majority have always been small and coffee-centered. Notably as well, cooperative unions, Ethiopia’s hallmark exporter organizations for small farmers, have little to no presence in this part of Guji. Were it not for private processing stations like EDN’s in Chelchele, many local growers in western Guji would have fewer options, worst of all being the sporadic, rogue coffee collector from Gedeo or farther, bringing low prices.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;","brand":"Royal Coffee Inc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46224692707516,"sku":"3427097000054449429","price":678.6,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0720\/7672\/2364\/files\/Ethiopia-Guji-1-Supernatural-Hambela-Buku-Sayasaback_4f901b9a-a28b-451c-ad78-cfb0cfbf1e08.jpg?v=1787945299"},{"product_id":"37548","title":"Ethiopia Yirgacheffe 1 Natural Chelchele Wako Jigsu - 37548 - SPOT SHANGHAI","description":"\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;This coffee comes from a single farmer in the Chelchele area, part of the Gedeb district in southern Gedeo Zone, where some of Ethiopia’s most complex and aromatic naturals come from year after year. Gedeb is a unique area dense with coffee growers and processors. The farmer, Wako Jigsu, was born and raised in Chelchele.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Gedeb's Significance and Coffee Profiles\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;The district of Gedeb takes up the south-eastern corner of Ethiopia’s Gedeo Zone—a narrow section of plateau dense with savvy farmers whose coffee is known as “Yirgacheffe”, after the zone’s most famous district. Gedeb, however, is a terroir, history, and community all its own that merits unique designation in our eyes. Coffees from this community, much closer to Guji Zone than the rest of Yirgacheffe, are often the most explosive cup profiles we see from anywhere in Ethiopia. Naturals tend to have perfume-like volatiles, and fully washed lots are often sparklingly clean and fruit candy-like in structure.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;The municipality of Gedeb itself is a is a bustling outpost that links commerce between the Guji and Gedeo Zones, with an expansive network of processing stations who buy cherry from across zone borders. These processors (and we would agree) would argue their coffee profiles are not exactly Yirgacheffe, but something of their own. The communities surrounding Gedeb reach some of the highest growing elevations for coffee in the world and are a truly enchanting part of the long drive into Guji. Banko Gotiti is one of the communities in eastern Gedeb and includes numerous local cooperatives, as well as independent processing stations of various types, like this one. \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;EDN Ethiopian Coffee \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;EDN Ethiopian Coffee is an independent processor and exporter of coffee with processing sites in Guji, southern Yirgacheffe, and Sidama. In addition to central processing sites, EDN also partners with promising individual growers whose output is not only excellent, but also large enough to be sold on its own in the international market. Wako Jigsu is one of these farmers, who EDN admires for having deep local roots, a love of sharing his knowledge with surrouding farmers, and a commitment to preserving traditional processing practices. In their own words, “for us, this is more than coffee; it is a shared journey built on trust, respect, and a commitment to making a lasting positive impact—from the farmer’s hands to the final cup”. \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Processing at Wako Jigsu’s farm\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Naturals at the farm begin with carefully hand-picked cherries. Harvested cherries are thoroughly sorted to remove any debris and ensure perfect ripeness prior to being moved to the raised screen beds to dry in the sun. Drying takes 2-4 weeks, during which time the cherries are rotated continuously, ensuring they dehydrate evenly and avoid the over-accumulation of either intense heat or settling humidity. Once fully dried, the cherry pods are moved to a cool, indoor storage environment to rest and condition—a process where moisture balances across the coffee and water activity stabilizes, to help lock in the coffee’s flavors for a long shelf life.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;","brand":"Royal Coffee Inc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46226060083388,"sku":"3427097000044153264","price":749.97,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0720\/7672\/2364\/files\/Ethiopia-Gedeb-1-Natural-Chelcheleback-scaled_f44c66d1-97e5-4747-97f7-decde53d2b20.jpg?v=1786403713"},{"product_id":"39783","title":"ETHIOPIA YIRGACHEFFE 2 WASHED FT-FLO ORGANIC BANKO DHADHATO - 39783 - GrainPro Bags - SPOT RCWHSE","description":"\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Banko Dhadhato is part of the Gedeb district, the southernmost district of Ethiopia’s famous Gedeo zone. Nearly all of Gedeb is known for its gifted processing climate and experienced growers. Washed and natural coffees alike from this area tend to be dense and fruit-forward, ranging from sparkling clean acidic fruits to jammy or herbal concentrated sweetness. Banko Dhadhato is one of many primary Fair Trade and organic certified cooperatives that make up the storied Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union (YCFCU). \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Gedeb and Its Coffee\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Gedeo zone is a narrow section of Ethiopia’s southern highland plateau dense with savvy farmers, a famous terroir, and high competition for cherry. Gedeo as a whole is frequently referred to as “Yirgacheffe”, after the zone’s most famous central district. Gedeb, however, is a terroir, history, and community all its own that merits unique designation in our eyes. Coffees from this district, much closer to Guji zone than the rest of Gedeo, are often the most explosive cup profiles we see from anywhere in Ethiopia. Naturals tend to have perfume-like volatiles, and fully washed lots are often sparklingly clean and fruit candy-like in structure.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;The Gedeb district is a remote but impressively industrious area for coffee production. Half of its territory is planted with coffee. The city of Gedeb itself is a is a bustling outpost that links commerce between the Guji and Gedeo Zones, with an expansive network of processing stations who buy cherry from across zone borders. The communities surrounding Gedeb reach some of the highest growing elevations for coffee in the world and are a truly enchanting part of the landscape. \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Banko Dhadhato Station and Processing\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;In the past, the Worka cooperative encapsulated a large share of this area’s farmers. In recent years, newer cooperatives have been established in more specific communities here. Banko Dhadhato was founded in the Worka area in 2013 with 250 farmers from the Banko Dhadhato \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;i\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;kebele \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/i\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;(small municipality), and has been part of YCFCU ever since. \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Banko Dhadhato now has 755 farmer members and represents just over 500 hectares of coffee production—about 0.66 hectares apiece on average. These are quintessential Gedeo family farms: small and forested, whose production is often divided between spacious, lofty coffee trees, other fruits or legumes, and \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;i\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;enset\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/i\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;, a fruitless cousin of the banana plant whose pulp is packed into cakes, fermented underground, and then toasted as a staple starch. This common pair of crops satisfies unique and separate needs: coffee for economic livelihood; and enset for nutrition.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Washed coffee is produced very straightforwardly at the coop. Cherry is picked daily during harvest and delivered to the coop by individual farmers. All cherry is sorted on arrival for imperfections and uniform ripeness. Coffee is depulped and fermented overnight in open tanks, and then washed clean and soaked in fresh water before being transferred to the raised drying tables. The parchment coffee dries in the sun for an average of 2 weeks, after which it is brought into the local warehouse for storage, prior to being transported to Addis Ababa for final dry milling and export.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;The Yirgacheffe Union\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Banko Dhadhato is one of the primary cooperatives that together make up the Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union (YCFCU). The Union, first established In 2002, has more than 45,000 individual farmer members and 28 different cooperatives across Gedeo Zone, almost all of which are Fair Trade certified. (Gedeo, while tiny compared to neighboring Sidama and Guji zones, is one of Ethiopia’s most densely populated areas after Addis Ababa.) The members of each primary cooperative elect their own executive committee which makes decisions about investments like new equipment and tree maintenance, but also creates plans for member social services, school support, public health, infrastructure, and how to structure payments to the coop members. YCFCU also appoints professional managers for each primary cooperative to oversee harvest and processing procedures, who are accountable to the members and the executive committee.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;","brand":"Royal Coffee Inc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46232145035452,"sku":"3427097000052361641","price":881.02,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0720\/7672\/2364\/files\/India-Monsoon-Malabar-AAback-scaled_f3c2484a-3901-4f98-905e-453ae80e4203.jpg?v=1788198648"},{"product_id":"39784","title":"ETHIOPIA YIRGACHEFFE 2 WASHED FT-FLO ORGANIC WORKA - 39784 - GrainPro Bags - SPOT RCWHSE","description":"\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;0Worka is a large municipality in the Gedeb district, the southernmost district of Ethiopia’s famous Gedeo zone. Nearly all of Gedeb is known for its gifted processing climate and experienced growers. Washed and natural coffees alike from this area tend to be dense and fruit-forward, ranging from sparkling clean acidic fruits to jammy or herbal concentrated sweetness. Worka is one of the oldest and largest individual cooperatives that make up the storied Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union (YCFCU). \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Gedeb and Its Coffee\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Gedeo zone is a narrow section of Ethiopia’s southern highland plateau dense with savvy farmers, a famous terroir, and high competition for cherry. Gedeo as a whole is frequently referred to as “Yirgacheffe”, after the zone’s most famous central district. Gedeb, however, is a terroir, history, and community all its own that merits unique designation in our eyes. Coffees from this district, much closer to Guji zone than the rest of Gedeo, are often the most explosive cup profiles we see from anywhere in Ethiopia. Naturals tend to have perfume-like volatiles, and fully washed lots are often sparklingly clean and fruit candy-like in structure.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;The Gedeb district is a remote but impressively industrious area for coffee production. Half of its territory is planted with coffee. The city of Gedeb itself is a is a bustling outpost that links commerce between the Guji and Gedeo Zones, with an expansive network of processing stations who buy cherry from across zone borders. The communities surrounding Gedeb reach some of the highest growing elevations for coffee in the world and are a truly enchanting part of the landscape. \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Worka Cooperative and Processing\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Worka was established in 2006, only a few years after YCFCU itself was founded. The cooperative began with 210 member farmers; today there are over 1,400 farmers spanning 2,500 hectares of coffee production—just under 2 hectares apiece on average, although occasionally farms can be 10 hectares or more. These are quintessential Gedeo family farms: small and forested, whose production is often divided between spacious, lofty coffee trees, other fruits or legumes, and \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;i\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;enset\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/i\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;, a fruitless cousin of the banana plant whose pulp is packed into cakes, fermented underground, and then toasted as a staple starch. This common pair of crops satisfies unique and separate needs: coffee for economic livelihood; and enset for nutrition.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Washed coffee is produced very straightforwardly at the coop. Cherry is picked daily during harvest and delivered to the coop by individual farmers. All cherry is sorted on arrival for imperfections and uniform ripeness. Coffee is depulped and fermented overnight in open tanks, and then washed clean and soaked in fresh water before being transferred to the raised drying tables. The parchment coffee dries in the sun for an average of 2 weeks, after which it is brought into the local warehouse for storage, prior to being transported to Addis Ababa for final dry milling and export.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;In the past, the Worka cooperative encapsulated a large share of this area’s farmers. In recent years, newer cooperatives have been established in more specific communities here, but Worka remains the largest and most influential of the local union cooperatives.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;The Yirgacheffe Union\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Worka is one of the primary cooperatives that together make up the Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union (YCFCU). The Union, first established In 2002, has more than 45,000 individual farmer members and 28 different cooperatives across Gedeo Zone, almost all of which are Fair Trade certified. (Gedeo, while tiny compared to neighboring Sidama and Guji zones, is one of Ethiopia’s most densely populated areas after Addis Ababa.) The members of each primary cooperative elect their own executive committee which makes decisions about investments like new equipment and tree maintenance, but also creates plans for member social services, school support, public health, infrastructure, and how to structure payments to the coop members. YCFCU also appoints professional managers for each primary cooperative to oversee harvest and processing procedures, who are accountable to the members and the executive committee.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;","brand":"Royal Coffee Inc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46232146116796,"sku":"3427097000052361646","price":881.49,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0720\/7672\/2364\/files\/rcf-coffee-info-a88eab0c0d8bb8023b055f3f9ffe21267ec8d8412462af09e9387df43ae72c90.jpg?v=1789935759"},{"product_id":"39785","title":"ETHIOPIA YIRGACHEFFE 2 WASHED FT-FLO ORGANIC WORKA - 39785 - GrainPro Bags - SPOT RCWHSE","description":"\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;0Worka is a large municipality in the Gedeb district, the southernmost district of Ethiopia’s famous Gedeo zone. Nearly all of Gedeb is known for its gifted processing climate and experienced growers. Washed and natural coffees alike from this area tend to be dense and fruit-forward, ranging from sparkling clean acidic fruits to jammy or herbal concentrated sweetness. Worka is one of the oldest and largest individual cooperatives that make up the storied Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union (YCFCU). \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Gedeb and Its Coffee\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Gedeo zone is a narrow section of Ethiopia’s southern highland plateau dense with savvy farmers, a famous terroir, and high competition for cherry. Gedeo as a whole is frequently referred to as “Yirgacheffe”, after the zone’s most famous central district. Gedeb, however, is a terroir, history, and community all its own that merits unique designation in our eyes. Coffees from this district, much closer to Guji zone than the rest of Gedeo, are often the most explosive cup profiles we see from anywhere in Ethiopia. Naturals tend to have perfume-like volatiles, and fully washed lots are often sparklingly clean and fruit candy-like in structure.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;The Gedeb district is a remote but impressively industrious area for coffee production. Half of its territory is planted with coffee. The city of Gedeb itself is a is a bustling outpost that links commerce between the Guji and Gedeo Zones, with an expansive network of processing stations who buy cherry from across zone borders. The communities surrounding Gedeb reach some of the highest growing elevations for coffee in the world and are a truly enchanting part of the landscape. \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Worka Cooperative and Processing\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Worka was established in 2006, only a few years after YCFCU itself was founded. The cooperative began with 210 member farmers; today there are over 1,400 farmers spanning 2,500 hectares of coffee production—just under 2 hectares apiece on average, although occasionally farms can be 10 hectares or more. These are quintessential Gedeo family farms: small and forested, whose production is often divided between spacious, lofty coffee trees, other fruits or legumes, and \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;i\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;enset\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/i\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;, a fruitless cousin of the banana plant whose pulp is packed into cakes, fermented underground, and then toasted as a staple starch. This common pair of crops satisfies unique and separate needs: coffee for economic livelihood; and enset for nutrition.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Washed coffee is produced very straightforwardly at the coop. Cherry is picked daily during harvest and delivered to the coop by individual farmers. All cherry is sorted on arrival for imperfections and uniform ripeness. Coffee is depulped and fermented overnight in open tanks, and then washed clean and soaked in fresh water before being transferred to the raised drying tables. The parchment coffee dries in the sun for an average of 2 weeks, after which it is brought into the local warehouse for storage, prior to being transported to Addis Ababa for final dry milling and export.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;In the past, the Worka cooperative encapsulated a large share of this area’s farmers. In recent years, newer cooperatives have been established in more specific communities here, but Worka remains the largest and most influential of the local union cooperatives.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;The Yirgacheffe Union\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Worka is one of the primary cooperatives that together make up the Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union (YCFCU). The Union, first established In 2002, has more than 45,000 individual farmer members and 28 different cooperatives across Gedeo Zone, almost all of which are Fair Trade certified. (Gedeo, while tiny compared to neighboring Sidama and Guji zones, is one of Ethiopia’s most densely populated areas after Addis Ababa.) The members of each primary cooperative elect their own executive committee which makes decisions about investments like new equipment and tree maintenance, but also creates plans for member social services, school support, public health, infrastructure, and how to structure payments to the coop members. YCFCU also appoints professional managers for each primary cooperative to oversee harvest and processing procedures, who are accountable to the members and the executive committee.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;","brand":"Royal Coffee Inc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46234473431228,"sku":"3427097000052361651","price":875.92,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0720\/7672\/2364\/files\/rcf-coffee-info-a88eab0c0d8bb8023b055f3f9ffe21267ec8d8412462af09e9387df43ae72c90.jpg?v=1789935759"},{"product_id":"39786","title":"Ethiopia Yirgacheffe 1 Washed Banko Taratu - 39786 - GrainPro Bags - SPOT SHANGHAI","description":"\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Gedeb, and the greater Gedeo zone, is one of the Ethiopia’s most productive and competitive coffee producing regions. It also has, in our estimation, one of Ethiopia’s most stunning terroirs. Bemen Coffee is an independent processor and exporter with a processing site in Banko Taratu, a small municipality in eastern Gedeb, close to the border with Guji. Here they collect some of the highest-grown coffee cherry in the country. This washed lot is particularly beautiful. It has a lush mouthfeel, flavors of creamy stone fruit and sweet florals, while also having the signature sweet camphor aromatics of the Gedeb region.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Gedeb's Significance and Coffee Profiles\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;The district of Gedeb takes up the south-eastern corner of Ethiopia’s Gedeo Zone. While seemingly wild and forested, the Gedeb district is actually teeming with coffee growers and processing stations. Gedeb, in our eyes, is a terroir, history, and community all its own that merits unique designation. Coffees from this region, much closer to Guji Zone than the rest of Yirgacheffe, are often the most explosive cup profiles we see from anywhere in Ethiopia. Naturals tend to have perfume-like volatiles, and fully washed lots are often sparklingly clean and fruit candy-like in structure.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;The municipality of Gedeb itself is a is a bustling outpost that links commerce between the Guji and Gedeo Zones, with an expansive network of processing stations who buy cherry from across zone borders. These processors would argue (and we would agree) that their coffee profiles are not exactly Yirgacheffe, nor exactly Guji, but something of their own. The communities surrounding Gedeb reach some of the highest growing elevations for coffee in the world and are a truly enchanting part of the long drive through Ethiopia's south. Banko Taratu is one of the communities in eastern Gedeb and includes numerous local cooperatives, as well as independent processing stations of various types, like this one. \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Bemen Coffee PLC\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Bemen Coffee was founded in 2012 by husband and wife Berhanu (Be-) and Menbere (-men). Berhanu and Menbere have been married for over 25 years and both have a lifelong passion for their country’s coffee. Bemen Coffee now works with over 600 smallholder coffee growers in Sidama, Gedeo (Yirgacheffe), and Guji zones.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Bemen’s processing site in Banko Taratu is managed by Tewodros “Teddy” Demelash. Teddy is assisted by Berhanu and Menbere’s oldest son Michael, who previously lived in San Francisco and was exposed to the city’s diverse specialty coffee scene, including coffees and processes from producers around the world. Michael returned to Ethiopia eager to assist his parents and help Bemen Coffee make a strong impact socially with their farmers, as well as in quality control and processing.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;“Great Coffee + Greater Purpose” is Bemen’s operating philosophy. The goal is to produce excellent quality coffee, but also for the business to improve the communities it interacts with. Bemen currently offers quality premiums for cherry and financially supports education and healthcare systems where they work. A longer term goal is to make crop diversification more viable for their farmers—reducing the reliance on coffee as the only source of income. Beekeeping and honey production is one project currently underway.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Processing at Banko Taratu\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Bemen employs over 100 people at the Banko Taratu site to manage processing. Washed coffee at begins with cherry inspection upon delivery by the farmers, with site employees sorting cherry for ripeness and consistency. Once accepted cherry is depulped and fermented in spring water for 48-72 hours, after which the parchment is scrubbed clean in long concrete channels with fresh running water. From here, the clean parchment is moved to shaded screen beds to skin-dry, and then moved into other beds in direct sun. The entire drying process takes 12-20 days depending on the current climate.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;","brand":"Royal Coffee Inc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46234566066364,"sku":"3427097000052412053","price":801.62,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0720\/7672\/2364\/files\/rcf-coffee-info-641b33d71091eb24896d9965c8c91df79f3ece092153eea08808c6511357a804.jpg?v=1789890619"},{"product_id":"39947","title":"ETHIOPIA SIDAMO 4 NATURAL FT-FLO\/USA ORGANIC OROMIA - 39947 - GrainPro Bags - SPOT SEAFORTH","description":"\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;The Oromia \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;R\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;egion\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;al State\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; is Ethiopia’s largest, \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;including more than 110,000 square miles and 35 million people. It \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;touches the borders of both Kenya to the south and South Sudan to the west, and includes Ethiopia’s \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;massive capital city, Addis Ababa\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;, along with 65% of Ethiopia coffee growing territory, as of \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;2014\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; There are a number of famous coffee regions\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; included\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; in\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; full or in part\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;in \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Oromia\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;:\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Jimma\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; and\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Illubabor\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; in the west; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Harar to the northeast\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;;\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Arsi\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;, bordering \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Sidama\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;in the mid-south\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;, \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;which produces many similar terroirs\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;; and the \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Guji\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; Zone, \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;where Royal also works with a diversity of \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;forward-thinking\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;growers and processors.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;T\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;he Oromia Coffee \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Farmers\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; Cooperative \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Union \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;(OCFCU)\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; is \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;an umbrella organization \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;established \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;in \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;1999 \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;by 34 individual cooperatives interested in centralizing resources and gaining leverage in the export market\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;. \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;As of 2020, \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;OCFCU supports \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;more than 400 individual\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; cooperatives\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;--\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;more than \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;400,000 households, by far the largest unionization of farmers in the country. \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Premiums from coffee exports are returned directly to farmers, and \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;the union \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;also fund\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;s\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; organic farming programs, mill equipment purchases, and food security programs. OCFCU has established a central cupping lab to support quality control and \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;is \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;a founding shareholder\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; in its\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; members’ bank\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;, the Cooperative Bank of Oromia,\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; that provides pre-harvest financing\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;and crop insurance\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;; both resources historically unavailable to rural farmers in Ethiopia. \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;OCFCU has been Fairtrade and Organic certified since 2002 and \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;ever since has\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;been\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; one of the world’s largest suppliers of Fairtrade coffee.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;","brand":"Royal Coffee Inc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46234613252284,"sku":"3427097000052839201","price":774.63,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0720\/7672\/2364\/files\/ETHIOPIA-SIDAMO-4-FTO-NATURALback-2_a343a290-7564-49c7-9f4c-d581167fc4e9.jpg?v=1787679914"},{"product_id":"39951","title":"ETHIOPIA SIDAMO 4 NATURAL FT-FLO\/USA ORGANIC OROMIA - 39951 - GrainPro Bags - SPOT RCWHSE","description":"\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;The Oromia \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;R\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;egion\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;al State\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; is Ethiopia’s largest, \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;including more than 110,000 square miles and 35 million people. It \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;touches the borders of both Kenya to the south and South Sudan to the west, and includes Ethiopia’s \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;massive capital city, Addis Ababa\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;, along with 65% of Ethiopia coffee growing territory, as of \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;2014\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; There are a number of famous coffee regions\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; included\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; in\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; full or in part\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;in \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Oromia\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;:\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Jimma\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; and\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Illubabor\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; in the west; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Harar to the northeast\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;;\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Arsi\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;, bordering \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Sidama\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;in the mid-south\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;, \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;which produces many similar terroirs\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;; and the \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Guji\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; Zone, \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;where Royal also works with a diversity of \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;forward-thinking\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;growers and processors.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;T\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;he Oromia Coffee \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Farmers\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; Cooperative \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Union \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;(OCFCU)\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; is \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;an umbrella organization \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;established \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;in \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;1999 \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;by 34 individual cooperatives interested in centralizing resources and gaining leverage in the export market\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;. \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;As of 2020, \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;OCFCU supports \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;more than 400 individual\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; cooperatives\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;--\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;more than \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;400,000 households, by far the largest unionization of farmers in the country. \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Premiums from coffee exports are returned directly to farmers, and \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;the union \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;also fund\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;s\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; organic farming programs, mill equipment purchases, and food security programs. OCFCU has established a central cupping lab to support quality control and \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;is \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;a founding shareholder\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; in its\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; members’ bank\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;, the Cooperative Bank of Oromia,\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; that provides pre-harvest financing\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;and crop insurance\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;; both resources historically unavailable to rural farmers in Ethiopia. \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;OCFCU has been Fairtrade and Organic certified since 2002 and \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;ever since has\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;been\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; one of the world’s largest suppliers of Fairtrade coffee.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;","brand":"Royal Coffee Inc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46234613317820,"sku":"3427097000052839223","price":776.4,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0720\/7672\/2364\/files\/ETHIOPIA-SIDAMO-4-FTO-NATURALback-2_f44620e2-dfd5-44d2-af46-324ab5cdae7d.jpg?v=1786742256"},{"product_id":"39948","title":"ETHIOPIA SIDAMO 4 NATURAL FT-FLO\/USA ORGANIC OROMIA - 39948 - SPOT RCWHSE","description":"\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;The Oromia \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;R\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;egion\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;al State\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; is Ethiopia’s largest, \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;including more than 110,000 square miles and 35 million people. It \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;touches the borders of both Kenya to the south and South Sudan to the west, and includes Ethiopia’s \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;massive capital city, Addis Ababa\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;, along with 65% of Ethiopia coffee growing territory, as of \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;2014\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; There are a number of famous coffee regions\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; included\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; in\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; full or in part\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;in \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Oromia\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;:\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Jimma\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; and\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Illubabor\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; in the west; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Harar to the northeast\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;;\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Arsi\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;, bordering \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Sidama\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;in the mid-south\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;, \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;which produces many similar terroirs\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;; and the \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Guji\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; Zone, \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;where Royal also works with a diversity of \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;forward-thinking\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;growers and processors.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;T\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;he Oromia Coffee \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Farmers\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; Cooperative \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Union \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;(OCFCU)\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; is \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;an umbrella organization \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;established \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;in \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;1999 \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;by 34 individual cooperatives interested in centralizing resources and gaining leverage in the export market\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;. \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;As of 2020, \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;OCFCU supports \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;more than 400 individual\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; cooperatives\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;--\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;more than \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;400,000 households, by far the largest unionization of farmers in the country. \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Premiums from coffee exports are returned directly to farmers, and \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;the union \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;also fund\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;s\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; organic farming programs, mill equipment purchases, and food security programs. OCFCU has established a central cupping lab to support quality control and \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;is \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;a founding shareholder\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; in its\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; members’ bank\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;, the Cooperative Bank of Oromia,\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; that provides pre-harvest financing\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;and crop insurance\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;; both resources historically unavailable to rural farmers in Ethiopia. \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;OCFCU has been Fairtrade and Organic certified since 2002 and \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;ever since has\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;been\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; one of the world’s largest suppliers of Fairtrade coffee.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;","brand":"Royal Coffee Inc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46343044890812,"sku":"3427097000052839206","price":738.19,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0720\/7672\/2364\/files\/ETHIOPIA-SIDAMO-4-FTO-NATURALback-2_a378466b-cd7d-4653-813c-f065bf83f07d.jpg?v=1788188994"},{"product_id":"39597","title":"ETHIOPIA YIRGACHEFFE 2 WASHED ORGANIC - 39597 - GrainPro Bags - SPOT RCWHSE","description":"Kore is a municipality located near the center of the coveted Gedeo Zone—the narrow section of highland plateau dense with savvy farmers and fiercely competitive processors whose coffee is known the world over as “Yirgacheffe”, after the zone’s most famous district. The Gedeo Zone is named for the Gedeo people who are indigenous to this area. As a coffee terroir, Gedeo, or “Yirgacheffe”, has for decades been considered a benchmark for beauty and complexity in arabica coffee. It’s known for being beguilingly ornate and jasmine-like when fully washed, and seductively punchy and sweet when sundried, and hardly requires an introduction.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nKore is in the district of Kochere, one of Gedeo’s largest districts. Private processors here will often attempt to collaborate with select communities to keep the coffee traceable and the terroir focused. In this case, the washing station, managed by Adem Kedir, is called, simply, “Kochere” (and isn’t the only private named after the district). Kedir is a 3rd-generation coffee professional, inheriting knowledge from his grandfather and father. Unlike previous generations, both of whom who worked in Ethiopia’s domestic marketplace, Adem exports coffee all over the world through his company, Ethio Gabana Trading.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nAdem’s station works directly with 634 farmers from the Boji, Kore, Buno, Baya, and Reko villages. The majority of these farmers own less than 0.5 hectares of land and typically divide their property between coffee, subsistence crops for the families, and items for the regional markets such as livestock or enset, a fruit-less relative of the banana tree whose pulp is fermented and then toasted as a staple food. Since the majority of these smallholders live below Ethiopia’s poverty line, the quality premiums paid by the Kochere station make a significant difference to the community.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nAt Kochere, cherry is hand-sorted upon delivery to ensure ripeness and uniformity, depulped, and fermented for up to 72 hours depending on local climate conditions. After fermentation is complete the parchment is moved to raised beds to dry, a process that takes between 7-12 days. During drying the parchment coffee is often covered during the midday sun, which at this altitude is often searingly hot during harvest and can crack the brittle parchment if exposed for even an hour too long.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nPrivate processors like Kochere are admirable businesses. It’s tough being a private processor in Gedeo, as the sheer density of competition among washing stations tends to push cherry prices as high as double throughout a single harvest, and privates often don’t have the backing of a larger union to secure financing, regulate cherry prices, or bring export costs down with centralized milling and marketing. Successful private washing stations like Kochere, then, need to be not only standout quality processors to stay afloat; they must also be excellent business developers with connections and community standing, in order to continue winning the business of farmers and buyers alike, and stay afloat for the long term.","brand":"Royal Coffee Inc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46349652295868,"sku":"3427097000052165341","price":801.56,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0720\/7672\/2364\/files\/Ethiopia-Yirgacheffe-2-Washed-gabanaback_050ac399-3700-4cb4-bb39-b112705e665e.jpg?v=1787951347"},{"product_id":"39599","title":"ETHIOPIA YIRGACHEFFE 2 WASHED ORGANIC - 39599 - GrainPro Bags - SPOT RCWHSE","description":"Kore is a municipality located near the center of the coveted Gedeo Zone—the narrow section of highland plateau dense with savvy farmers and fiercely competitive processors whose coffee is known the world over as “Yirgacheffe”, after the zone’s most famous district. The Gedeo Zone is named for the Gedeo people who are indigenous to this area. As a coffee terroir, Gedeo, or “Yirgacheffe”, has for decades been considered a benchmark for beauty and complexity in arabica coffee. It’s known for being beguilingly ornate and jasmine-like when fully washed, and seductively punchy and sweet when sundried, and hardly requires an introduction.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nKore is in the district of Kochere, one of Gedeo’s largest districts. Private processors here will often attempt to collaborate with select communities to keep the coffee traceable and the terroir focused. In this case, the washing station, managed by Adem Kedir, is called, simply, “Kochere” (and isn’t the only private named after the district). Kedir is a 3rd-generation coffee professional, inheriting knowledge from his grandfather and father. Unlike previous generations, both of whom who worked in Ethiopia’s domestic marketplace, Adem exports coffee all over the world through his company, Ethio Gabana Trading.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nAdem’s station works directly with 634 farmers from the Boji, Kore, Buno, Baya, and Reko villages. The majority of these farmers own less than 0.5 hectares of land and typically divide their property between coffee, subsistence crops for the families, and items for the regional markets such as livestock or enset, a fruit-less relative of the banana tree whose pulp is fermented and then toasted as a staple food. Since the majority of these smallholders live below Ethiopia’s poverty line, the quality premiums paid by the Kochere station make a significant difference to the community.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nAt Kochere, cherry is hand-sorted upon delivery to ensure ripeness and uniformity, depulped, and fermented for up to 72 hours depending on local climate conditions. After fermentation is complete the parchment is moved to raised beds to dry, a process that takes between 7-12 days. During drying the parchment coffee is often covered during the midday sun, which at this altitude is often searingly hot during harvest and can crack the brittle parchment if exposed for even an hour too long.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nPrivate processors like Kochere are admirable businesses. It’s tough being a private processor in Gedeo, as the sheer density of competition among washing stations tends to push cherry prices as high as double throughout a single harvest, and privates often don’t have the backing of a larger union to secure financing, regulate cherry prices, or bring export costs down with centralized milling and marketing. Successful private washing stations like Kochere, then, need to be not only standout quality processors to stay afloat; they must also be excellent business developers with connections and community standing, in order to continue winning the business of farmers and buyers alike, and stay afloat for the long term.","brand":"Royal Coffee Inc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46349652328636,"sku":"3427097000052165353","price":822.28,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0720\/7672\/2364\/files\/Ethiopia-Yirgacheffe-2-Washed-gabanaback_81acd514-fb03-45a8-80fd-017dc51cabc7.jpg?v=1787942660"},{"product_id":"39598","title":"ETHIOPIA YIRGACHEFFE 2 WASHED ORGANIC - 39598 - GrainPro Bags - SPOT RCWHSE","description":"Kore is a municipality located near the center of the coveted Gedeo Zone—the narrow section of highland plateau dense with savvy farmers and fiercely competitive processors whose coffee is known the world over as “Yirgacheffe”, after the zone’s most famous district. The Gedeo Zone is named for the Gedeo people who are indigenous to this area. As a coffee terroir, Gedeo, or “Yirgacheffe”, has for decades been considered a benchmark for beauty and complexity in arabica coffee. It’s known for being beguilingly ornate and jasmine-like when fully washed, and seductively punchy and sweet when sundried, and hardly requires an introduction.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nKore is in the district of Kochere, one of Gedeo’s largest districts. Private processors here will often attempt to collaborate with select communities to keep the coffee traceable and the terroir focused. In this case, the washing station, managed by Adem Kedir, is called, simply, “Kochere” (and isn’t the only private named after the district). Kedir is a 3rd-generation coffee professional, inheriting knowledge from his grandfather and father. Unlike previous generations, both of whom who worked in Ethiopia’s domestic marketplace, Adem exports coffee all over the world through his company, Ethio Gabana Trading.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nAdem’s station works directly with 634 farmers from the Boji, Kore, Buno, Baya, and Reko villages. The majority of these farmers own less than 0.5 hectares of land and typically divide their property between coffee, subsistence crops for the families, and items for the regional markets such as livestock or enset, a fruit-less relative of the banana tree whose pulp is fermented and then toasted as a staple food. Since the majority of these smallholders live below Ethiopia’s poverty line, the quality premiums paid by the Kochere station make a significant difference to the community.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nAt Kochere, cherry is hand-sorted upon delivery to ensure ripeness and uniformity, depulped, and fermented for up to 72 hours depending on local climate conditions. After fermentation is complete the parchment is moved to raised beds to dry, a process that takes between 7-12 days. During drying the parchment coffee is often covered during the midday sun, which at this altitude is often searingly hot during harvest and can crack the brittle parchment if exposed for even an hour too long.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nPrivate processors like Kochere are admirable businesses. It’s tough being a private processor in Gedeo, as the sheer density of competition among washing stations tends to push cherry prices as high as double throughout a single harvest, and privates often don’t have the backing of a larger union to secure financing, regulate cherry prices, or bring export costs down with centralized milling and marketing. Successful private washing stations like Kochere, then, need to be not only standout quality processors to stay afloat; they must also be excellent business developers with connections and community standing, in order to continue winning the business of farmers and buyers alike, and stay afloat for the long term.","brand":"Royal Coffee Inc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46349652361404,"sku":"3427097000052165348","price":746.59,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0720\/7672\/2364\/files\/Ethiopia-Yirgacheffe-2-Washed-gabanaback.jpg?v=1787951356"},{"product_id":"39600","title":"ETHIOPIA YIRGACHEFFE 2 WASHED ORGANIC - 39600 - GrainPro Bags - SPOT RCWHSE","description":"Kore is a municipality located near the center of the coveted Gedeo Zone—the narrow section of highland plateau dense with savvy farmers and fiercely competitive processors whose coffee is known the world over as “Yirgacheffe”, after the zone’s most famous district. The Gedeo Zone is named for the Gedeo people who are indigenous to this area. As a coffee terroir, Gedeo, or “Yirgacheffe”, has for decades been considered a benchmark for beauty and complexity in arabica coffee. It’s known for being beguilingly ornate and jasmine-like when fully washed, and seductively punchy and sweet when sundried, and hardly requires an introduction.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nKore is in the district of Kochere, one of Gedeo’s largest districts. Private processors here will often attempt to collaborate with select communities to keep the coffee traceable and the terroir focused. In this case, the washing station, managed by Adem Kedir, is called, simply, “Kochere” (and isn’t the only private named after the district). Kedir is a 3rd-generation coffee professional, inheriting knowledge from his grandfather and father. Unlike previous generations, both of whom who worked in Ethiopia’s domestic marketplace, Adem exports coffee all over the world through his company, Ethio Gabana Trading.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nAdem’s station works directly with 634 farmers from the Boji, Kore, Buno, Baya, and Reko villages. The majority of these farmers own less than 0.5 hectares of land and typically divide their property between coffee, subsistence crops for the families, and items for the regional markets such as livestock or enset, a fruit-less relative of the banana tree whose pulp is fermented and then toasted as a staple food. Since the majority of these smallholders live below Ethiopia’s poverty line, the quality premiums paid by the Kochere station make a significant difference to the community.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nAt Kochere, cherry is hand-sorted upon delivery to ensure ripeness and uniformity, depulped, and fermented for up to 72 hours depending on local climate conditions. After fermentation is complete the parchment is moved to raised beds to dry, a process that takes between 7-12 days. During drying the parchment coffee is often covered during the midday sun, which at this altitude is often searingly hot during harvest and can crack the brittle parchment if exposed for even an hour too long.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nPrivate processors like Kochere are admirable businesses. It’s tough being a private processor in Gedeo, as the sheer density of competition among washing stations tends to push cherry prices as high as double throughout a single harvest, and privates often don’t have the backing of a larger union to secure financing, regulate cherry prices, or bring export costs down with centralized milling and marketing. Successful private washing stations like Kochere, then, need to be not only standout quality processors to stay afloat; they must also be excellent business developers with connections and community standing, in order to continue winning the business of farmers and buyers alike, and stay afloat for the long term.","brand":"Royal Coffee Inc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46349652426940,"sku":"3427097000052165358","price":799.81,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0720\/7672\/2364\/files\/Ethiopia-Yirgacheffe-2-Washed-gabanaback_8a3545be-6981-44c3-b924-2d462292e8e9.jpg?v=1788217559"},{"product_id":"40748","title":"ETHIOPIA SIDAMA 3 NATURAL FT-FLO ORGANIC MOKONISSA - 40748 - GrainPro Bags - SPOT RCWHSE","description":"\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Mokonissa is one of the primary cooperatives belonging to the Sidama Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union (SCFCU), one of Ethiopia’s largest and best-known exporting organizations. SCFCU is robust; there are 53 member cooperatives in the union and over 80,000 member households throughout the Sidama Zone. Harvest in Sidama occurs slightly earlier than in the more southern zones of Gedeo and Guji, and as a result the coffees from here are usually the year’s very first top quality arrivals from anywhere in Ethiopia.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Mokonissa carries out activities that often go unnoticed but are crucial for small producers, including training producers in best organic practices and investing in basic infrastructure needs like road improvements and local warehouses. SCFCU focuses on establishing a certification process for local cooperatives, creating micro-credit for producers and investing in social programs on a larger scale. Environmental training programs, healthcare initiatives, life insurance, and educational opportunities are just some of the ways SCFCU strives to improve the quality of life for coffee producers and their families.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;There are 1492 active (contributing) farmer members belonging to the Mokonissa cooperative. Farmers in this area are truly smallholders, averaging less than one hectare of coffee cultivation each, in which they also produce vegetables for the household and local sale. The coop processes coffee at 2 different sites, in the Bensa district communities of Sadeware and Bensaware.  \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;In processing, unlike in most of Sidama, Mokonissa willingly invests in the necessary resources to produces clean and high quality naturals. One of these resources is drying space: full coffee cherries are greater in volume than the seeds alone, not to mention naturals need to dry slowly in a single layer, which, when combined, necessitate many more raised beds for an equal output of coffee. The other is labor: Mokonissa employs up to 100 people at the station to oversee the constant maintenance of large-scale parchment and cherry drying. Once fully dried and cured, final milling for export is completed at the Union mill in Addis Ababa.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Mokonissa was founded in 1976 and functioned independently, as did many coops and processing groups back then, for lack of a greater export network. This lasted until the late 90s and relied largely on a system of local collectors and buyers, who would then deliver consolidated cherry to processors or export auctions. The formation of cooperative unions in Ethiopia allowed for voting power and higher farm returns from the direct exportation that unions would be capable of. Certifications, as well, easily earned through the traditionally organic methods of Ethiopia’s smallholders and a conscious business plan, could be secured for price protection and marketing purposes, helping vast populations of smallholders gain small but meaningful leverage in the global marketplace that remains to this day.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;","brand":"Royal Coffee Inc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46353331912892,"sku":"3427097000054580134","price":795.6,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0720\/7672\/2364\/files\/rcf-coffee-info-0c698e68434b52d2d60f6c7e6de5d1b6f920a78a1f454021da9e1f53aec9920d.jpg?v=1789786853"},{"product_id":"39946","title":"ETHIOPIA SIDAMO 4 NATURAL FT-FLO\/USA ORGANIC OROMIA - 39946 - SPOT COMIDWEST","description":"\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;The Oromia \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;R\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;egion\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;al State\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; is Ethiopia’s largest, \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;including more than 110,000 square miles and 35 million people. It \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;touches the borders of both Kenya to the south and South Sudan to the west, and includes Ethiopia’s \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;massive capital city, Addis Ababa\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;, along with 65% of Ethiopia coffee growing territory, as of \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;2014\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; There are a number of famous coffee regions\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; included\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; in\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; full or in part\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;in \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Oromia\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;:\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Jimma\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; and\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Illubabor\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; in the west; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Harar to the northeast\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;;\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Arsi\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;, bordering \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Sidama\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;in the mid-south\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;, \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;which produces many similar terroirs\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;; and the \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Guji\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; Zone, \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;where Royal also works with a diversity of \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;forward-thinking\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;growers and processors.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;T\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;he Oromia Coffee \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Farmers\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; Cooperative \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Union \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;(OCFCU)\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; is \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;an umbrella organization \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;established \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;in \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;1999 \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;by 34 individual cooperatives interested in centralizing resources and gaining leverage in the export market\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;. \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;As of 2020, \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;OCFCU supports \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;more than 400 individual\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; cooperatives\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;--\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;more than \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;400,000 households, by far the largest unionization of farmers in the country. \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Premiums from coffee exports are returned directly to farmers, and \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;the union \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;also fund\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;s\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; organic farming programs, mill equipment purchases, and food security programs. OCFCU has established a central cupping lab to support quality control and \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;is \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;a founding shareholder\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; in its\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; members’ bank\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;, the Cooperative Bank of Oromia,\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; that provides pre-harvest financing\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;and crop insurance\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;; both resources historically unavailable to rural farmers in Ethiopia. \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;OCFCU has been Fairtrade and Organic certified since 2002 and \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;ever since has\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;been\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; one of the world’s largest suppliers of Fairtrade coffee.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;","brand":"Royal Coffee Inc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46356489207996,"sku":"3427097000052839194","price":778.51,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0720\/7672\/2364\/files\/ETHIOPIA-SIDAMO-4-FTO-NATURALback-2_1874be0c-e296-4730-b8a8-b9a33c3c3658.jpg?v=1788217174"},{"product_id":"40161","title":"ETHIOPIA SIDAMO 4 NATURAL FT-FLO ORGANIC SMITHSONIAN BIRD FRIENDLY - 40161 - GrainPro Bags - SPOT RCWHSE","description":"\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;The Oromia \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;R\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;egion\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;al State\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; is Ethiopia’s largest, \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;including more than 110,000 square miles and 35 million people. It \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;touches the borders of both Kenya to the south and South Sudan to the west, and includes Ethiopia’s \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;massive capital city, Addis Ababa\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;, along with 65% of Ethiopia coffee growing territory, as of \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;2014\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;There are a number of famous coffee regions\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; included\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; in\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; full or in part\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;in \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Oromia\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;:\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Jimma\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; and\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Illubabor\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; in the west; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Harar to the northeast\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;;\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Arsi\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;, bordering \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Sidama\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;in the mid-south\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;, \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;which produces many similar terroirs\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;; and the \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Guji\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; Zone, \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;where Royal also works with a diversity of \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;forward-thinking\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;growers and processors.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;T\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;he Oromia Coffee \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Farmers\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; Cooperative \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Union \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;(OCFCU)\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; is \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;an umbrella organization \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;established \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;in \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;1999 \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;by 34 individual cooperatives interested in centralizing resources and gaining leverage in the export market\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;. \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;As of 2020, \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;OCFCU supports \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;more than 400 individual\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; cooperatives\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;--\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;more than \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;400,000 households, by far the largest unionization of farmers in the country. \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Premiums from coffee exports are returned directly to farmers, and \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;the union \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;also fund\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;s\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; organic farming programs, mill equipment purchases, and food security programs. OCFCU has established a central cupping lab to support quality control and \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;is \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;a founding shareholder\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; in its\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; members’ bank\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;, the Cooperative Bank of Oromia,\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; that provides pre-harvest financing\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;and crop insurance\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;; both resources historically unavailable to rural farmers in Ethiopia. \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;OCFCU has been Fairtrade and Organic certified since 2002 and \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;ever since has\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;been\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; one of the world’s largest suppliers of Fairtrade coffee.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;","brand":"Royal Coffee Inc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46394936393916,"sku":"3427097000053233076","price":782.05,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0720\/7672\/2364\/files\/rcf-coffee-info-0d8713ea526a69d711d574b37e891745f533c3c0a0417a47e2d9610f6e35c1f2.jpg?v=1789787530"},{"product_id":"37968","title":"ETHIOPIA GUJI 4 NATURAL ORGANIC - 37968 - GrainPro Bags - SPOT COSEATAC","description":"\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Royal buys grade 4 naturals from Guji for their balanced character that typically includes dried fruit flavors, creamy textures, earth and chocolate, along with a typically great price point relative to other regions in southern Ethiopia. Grade 4 naturals are sourced from central processing sites, large estates, and often a combination of the two, in which “outgrowers”, or local smallholders, sell to large estates who process cherry on site. \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Brief History \u0026amp; Flavor Profile\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Ethiopia’s Guji zone is a distant and heavily forested swath of land stretching southeast through the lower corner of the massive Oromia region. Guji is heavy with primary forest thanks to the Guji tribe, a part of Ethiopia’s vast and diverse Oromo nation, who have for generations organized and legislated to reduce mining and logging outfits in their area, in a struggle to conserve the land’s sacred canopy. \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Compared to other coffee-heavy regions, large parts of Guji feel like prehistoric backwoods. Coffee farms in many parts of Guji begin at 2000 meters in elevation and tend to climb from there. The highland farming communities in this part of the country can be at turns Edenic in their natural purity, and startlingly remote.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Processing Detail \u0026amp; Quality Control\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Cherry is received at all times during the long harvest days. Once received, cherries are sorted for ripeness and consistency and moved directly to raised drying tables where they are spread in a single layer to dry in the sun. The full drying process normally takes 3-6 weeks depending on the local climate at the time, and the final resting moisture content of the fruit is 11.5%. \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Once cherries have been thoroughly dried and rested, the dried fruit is hulled from the coffee seed in local mills, and then transferred to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital. In Addis the coffee is dry-milled by exporters who use modern color sorting equipment and often fleets of trained workers who repeatedly hand-sort the coffee to the correct grade for export.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;","brand":"Royal Coffee Inc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46400531267772,"sku":"3427097000045540088","price":509.74,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0720\/7672\/2364\/files\/ethguji1naturalorganickayonmountainback_2632d9f9-2117-4731-baa2-a3dbb9b3c9e6.jpg?v=1785437018"},{"product_id":"40837","title":"ETHIOPIA SIDAMA 2 WASHED FT-FLO ORGANIC BOA BEDEGELO - 40837 - GrainPro Bags - SPOT RCWHSE","description":"\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Boa Bedegelo is one of the primary cooperatives belonging to the Sidama Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union (SCFCU), one of Ethiopia’s largest and best-known exporting organizations. SCFCU is robust; there are 53 member cooperatives in the union and over 80,000 member households throughout the Sidama Zone. Harvest in Sidama occurs slightly earlier than in the more southern zones of Gedeo and Guji, and as a result the coffees from here are usually the year’s very first top quality arrivals from anywhere in Ethiopia.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Boa Bedegelo carries out activities that often go unnoticed but are crucial for small producers, including training producers in best organic practices and investing in basic infrastructure needs like road improvements and local warehouses. SCFCU focuses on establishing a certification process for local cooperatives, creating micro-credit for producers and investing in social programs on a larger scale. Environmental training programs, healthcare initiatives, life insurance, and educational opportunities are just some of the ways SCFCU strives to improve the quality of life for coffee producers and their families.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;There are 2855 active (contributing) farmer members belonging to the Boa Bedegelo cooperative, one of the union’s larger in both membership and output, along with the mighty Fero cooperative. Together these larger coops are some of the few sources of natural process coffees from Sidama. Farmers in this area are truly smallholders, averaging less than one hectare of coffee cultivation each, in which they also produce vegetables for the household and local sale. The coop processes coffee at 3 different sites, in the Dale district communities of Manche, Hayilo, and Shafina.  \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Cherry is delivered daily to SCFCU’s coop washing stations where it is sorted, depulped, and fermented overnight in water, which is traditionally replenished multiple times during the fermentation period to ensure clean, white, and contaminant-free parchment. Boa Bedegelo employs over 100 people at the station to oversee the constant maintenance of large-scale parchment and, in the case of naturals, cherry drying. Once fully dried and cured, final milling for export is completed at the Union mill in Addis Ababa.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Boa Bedegelo was founded in 1975 and functioned independently, as did many coops and processing groups back then, for lack of a greater export network. This lasted until the late 90s and relied largely on a system of local collectors and buyers, who would then deliver consolidated cherry to processors or export auctions. The formation of cooperative unions in Ethiopia allowed for voting power and higher farm returns from the direct exportation that unions would be capable of. Certifications, as well, easily earned through the traditionally organic methods of Ethiopia’s smallholders and a conscious business plan, could be secured for price protection and marketing purposes, helping vast populations of smallholders gain small but meaningful leverage in the global marketplace that remains to this day.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;","brand":"Royal Coffee Inc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46584776687804,"sku":"3427097000054796664","price":815.86,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0720\/7672\/2364\/files\/rcf-coffee-info-16bcf6f348971c88d53064626d7d5d3523309a6b5b3e40455d450e5a2f718149.jpg?v=1789793495"},{"product_id":"40838","title":"ETHIOPIA SIDAMA 2 WASHED FT-FLO ORGANIC HUNKUTE - 40838 - GrainPro Bags - SPOT RCWHSE","description":"This coffee is sourced from family owned farms organized around the Hunkute Cooperative, located in the Wonsho district within the Sidama Zone, Southern Nations Nationalities, and Peoples' Region, Ethiopia.  The Hunkute Cooperative joined the Sidama Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union (SCFCU), an umbrella organization established 2001 to support a sustainable coffee supply from cooperatives in the Sidama region.  SCFCU supports forty-six cooperatives with more than 80,000 farmer-members.","brand":"Royal Coffee Inc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46584776917180,"sku":"3427097000054796673","price":815.55,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0720\/7672\/2364\/files\/rcf-coffee-info-45cbe6bc660ae018109139472ffe5862b54e138f7dc522e2fc9020e765de58e5.jpg?v=1789869138"},{"product_id":"40839","title":"ETHIOPIA SIDAMA 2 WASHED FT-FLO ORGANIC BOKASSO - 40839 - GrainPro Bags - SPOT RCWHSE","description":"\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;The Sidama zone is one of Ethiopia's most productive, supplying over 40% of the entire country's washed coffee to its central market. Compared to Yirgacheffe, further south, Sidama is a sprawling and varied landscape that transitions from the Great Rift Valley to beyond 2000 meters in elevation. The Wonsho \"woreda\", or district, where the Bokaso cooperative is located, is in central Sidama, east of the city of Yirga Alem. Bokaso has been in existence since 1976.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Welcome to Sidama\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;The climb from the southern end of the Great Rift Valley, through Shashamene and past Awasa is gradual, and coffee trees slowly increase in frequency, large, lanky, and dusty by the roadside, many so tall they lean on the roofs of houses for support. Coffees produced in Sidama are earlier than in the far south, delicate, and citric. Sidama has one of the most exemplary cooperative unions in the country, as well as a thriving industry of independent washing stations and medium-sized family estates with export licenses of their own.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;The Sidama Union and its Coops\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;The Sidama Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union (SCFCU) is one of Ethiopia’s largest and best-known exporting organizations. SCFCU is robust; there are 53 member cooperatives in the union and over 80,000 member households throughout the Sidama Zone. Because harvest in Sidama occurs slightly earlier than in the more southern zones of Gedeo and Guji, the fully washed lots from here are usually the year’s very first top quality arrivals from anywhere in Ethiopia. \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;SCFCU coops each carry out activities that often go unnoticed but are crucial for small producers, including training producers in best organic practices and investing in basic infrastructure needs like road improvements and establishing local warehouses. SCFCU focuses on establishing a certification process for local cooperatives, creating micro-credit for producers and investing in social programs on a larger scale. Environmental training programs, healthcare initiatives, life insurance, and educational opportunities are just some of the ways SCFCU strives to improve the quality of life for coffee producers and their families. \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Farmer members throughout the union are truly smallholders, averaging less than a hectare of coffee cultivation each, in which they also produce vegetables for the household and local sale. \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Bokaso Cooperative and Washed Processing\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Farmer members at Bokaso are very small: the coop’s more than 1,500 members grow coffee on a combined 1,015 hectares of land, about 0.75 hectares apiece. Cherry is delivered daily to Bokaso where it is sorted, depulped, and fermented for 48 hours in water, which is traditionally replenished multiple times during the fermentation period to ensure clean, white, and contaminant-free parchment. Once fermentation is complete the coffee is moved immediately to raised screen tables for sundrying, where it is rotated constantly for 10-15 days to ensure gradual, even drying. \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;The coop employs up to 65 people during harvest to manage all the daily operations of coffee rotation on the drying tables, cherry intake, station finances and record keeping, and of course processing itself. \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;","brand":"Royal Coffee Inc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46584777048252,"sku":"3427097000054796677","price":814.81,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0720\/7672\/2364\/files\/rcf-coffee-info-7acbe8611c19a4652c13cc58b0aad3120e107824aea389ac28e0c54669463fa2.jpg?v=1789905135"},{"product_id":"40227","title":"ETHIOPIA YIRGACHEFFE 4 NATURAL ORGANIC KONGA - 40227 - GrainPro Bags - ETA: Nov 17, 2026 - RCWHSE","description":"\u0026lt;div style=\"font-family: Lato, sans-serif; width: auto !important; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; white-space: pre-line; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-color: initial\"\u0026gt;The creation of the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange (ECX) in 2008 significantly limited farm-level traceability. In a noble effort to reduce nepotism and fraudulent marketing by bad actors in the chain (both of which directly hurt farmers’ chances in the market), the Exchange instituted a nationalized system of purely empirical quality analysis.\u0026lt;br \/\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/div\u0026gt;\u0026lt;div style=\"font-family: Lato, sans-serif; width: auto !important; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; white-space: pre-line; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-color: initial\"\u0026gt;\u0026lt;br \/\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/div\u0026gt;\u0026lt;div style=\"font-family: Lato, sans-serif; width: auto !important; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; white-space: pre-line; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-color: initial\"\u0026gt;This was achieved by anonymizing coffee deliveries to government-run sensory analysis hubs throughout the country. In these labs, samples would be cupped and the entire lot would then be profiled by region and grade only, for internal auction to exporters. Where all of this backfired was in relationship markets: longtime microlot buyers, like Royal, could risk losing access to very established producer partnerships as their coffees were blinded in the Exchange; and, enterprising coops, unable to show their coffees directly to buyers, found it more difficult to find their coffees a consistent home for the highest value.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nIn response, Royal, with support from select cooperatives, led the formation of the \u0026lt;a style=\"text-decoration: none; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; color: rgb(44, 123, 208); border-radius: 0px\" href=\"https:\/\/royalcoffee.com\/single-farmer-lots-from-ycfcu-royal-coffee\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"\u0026gt;Single Farmer Lots Program\u0026lt;\/a\u0026gt;, in order to break off single farmer lots from the larger cooperative blends sold through the ECX, taking custody of these precious coffees through a direct sale. The program is a unique micro-channel of almost unprecedented specificity in coffee supply from Ethiopia. Farmers with the drive and means to sell direct are supported by Royal, and, in turn, our most enthusiastic buyers of Ethiopia coffee have access to a portfolio of single-farm lots, un-diluted by the typical cooperative- and exporter-level consolidations. The \u0026lt;a style=\"text-decoration: none; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; color: rgb(44, 123, 208); border-radius: 0px\" href=\"https:\/\/royalcoffee.com\/single-farmer-lots-from-ycfcu-royal-coffee\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"\u0026gt;Single Farmer Lots Program\u0026lt;\/a\u0026gt; represents a very sweet end to a chaotic recent chapter in Ethiopia’s coffee history, and we think it’s a model for what ought to be a generation of start-up relationship farming in Ethiopia’s world-famous southern zones.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nAnnual farm visits from Royal CEO Max Nicholas-Fulmer and regular communication with farmers through \u0026lt;a style=\"text-decoration: none; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; color: rgb(44, 123, 208); border-radius: 0px\" href=\"https:\/\/royalcoffee.com\/meet-haile-andualem-our-man-in-addis-ababa\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"\u0026gt;Haile Andualem\u0026lt;\/a\u0026gt;, Royal’s representative on the ground in Ethiopia, has been an essential component for ensuring that farmers and washing stations are following strict farm management and post-harvest protocols. The results have been increasing cup quality and higher returns for the individual producers that Royal has come to count on for great coffee year after year.\u0026lt;br \/\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/div\u0026gt;\u0026lt;div style=\"font-family: Lato, sans-serif; width: auto !important; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; white-space: pre-line; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-color: initial\"\u0026gt;\u0026lt;br \/\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/div\u0026gt;\u0026lt;div style=\"font-family: Lato, sans-serif; width: auto !important; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; white-space: pre-line; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-color: initial\"\u0026gt;Takele Mammo Denbi, at 47 years, is a brand-new participant in the \u0026lt;a style=\"text-decoration: none; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; color: rgb(44, 123, 208); border-radius: 0px\" href=\"https:\/\/royalcoffee.com\/single-farmer-lots-from-ycfcu-royal-coffee\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"\u0026gt;Single Farmer Lots Program\u0026lt;\/a\u0026gt; this year, but not at all new to the direct export process. Takele is currently stepping down after many years as the Managing Director of the Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union, of which his own farm has been a member. Takele has worked closely with Royal over the years helping this program succeed, but to avoid any conflict of interest excluded his personal coffee from the program. This lot comes from smallholder farmers organized around the Konga Processing Station located in the Konga disctrict, located in the heart of the coveted Gedeo Zone—the narrow section of plateau dense with savvy farmers whose coffee is known as “Yirgacheffe”. The Konga processing station is well-known for its quality, and it’s a distinct pleasure having individual farmers from this perennially impressive community to celebrate, not to mention one as dedicated to farmer opportunity as Takele.\u0026lt;br \/\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/div\u0026gt;","brand":"Royal Coffee Inc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46586279067836,"sku":"3427097000053333146","price":722.25,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0720\/7672\/2364\/files\/rcf-coffee-info-517cf15c64960e86c8c38d6c3ed712ba3af80eab3c7d0b5994ca67739e1e19d0.jpg?v=1789878050"},{"product_id":"40226","title":"ETHIOPIA YIRGACHEFFE 4 NATURAL ORGANIC KONGA - 40226 - GrainPro Bags - ETA: Nov 17, 2026 - RCWHSE","description":"\u0026lt;div style=\"font-family: Lato, sans-serif; width: auto !important; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; white-space: pre-line; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-color: initial\"\u0026gt;The creation of the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange (ECX) in 2008 significantly limited farm-level traceability. In a noble effort to reduce nepotism and fraudulent marketing by bad actors in the chain (both of which directly hurt farmers’ chances in the market), the Exchange instituted a nationalized system of purely empirical quality analysis.\u0026lt;br \/\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/div\u0026gt;\u0026lt;div style=\"font-family: Lato, sans-serif; width: auto !important; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; white-space: pre-line; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-color: initial\"\u0026gt;\u0026lt;br \/\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/div\u0026gt;\u0026lt;div style=\"font-family: Lato, sans-serif; width: auto !important; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; white-space: pre-line; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-color: initial\"\u0026gt;This was achieved by anonymizing coffee deliveries to government-run sensory analysis hubs throughout the country. In these labs, samples would be cupped and the entire lot would then be profiled by region and grade only, for internal auction to exporters. Where all of this backfired was in relationship markets: longtime microlot buyers, like Royal, could risk losing access to very established producer partnerships as their coffees were blinded in the Exchange; and, enterprising coops, unable to show their coffees directly to buyers, found it more difficult to find their coffees a consistent home for the highest value.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nIn response, Royal, with support from select cooperatives, led the formation of the \u0026lt;a style=\"text-decoration: none; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; color: rgb(44, 123, 208); border-radius: 0px\" href=\"https:\/\/royalcoffee.com\/single-farmer-lots-from-ycfcu-royal-coffee\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"\u0026gt;Single Farmer Lots Program\u0026lt;\/a\u0026gt;, in order to break off single farmer lots from the larger cooperative blends sold through the ECX, taking custody of these precious coffees through a direct sale. The program is a unique micro-channel of almost unprecedented specificity in coffee supply from Ethiopia. Farmers with the drive and means to sell direct are supported by Royal, and, in turn, our most enthusiastic buyers of Ethiopia coffee have access to a portfolio of single-farm lots, un-diluted by the typical cooperative- and exporter-level consolidations. The \u0026lt;a style=\"text-decoration: none; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; color: rgb(44, 123, 208); border-radius: 0px\" href=\"https:\/\/royalcoffee.com\/single-farmer-lots-from-ycfcu-royal-coffee\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"\u0026gt;Single Farmer Lots Program\u0026lt;\/a\u0026gt; represents a very sweet end to a chaotic recent chapter in Ethiopia’s coffee history, and we think it’s a model for what ought to be a generation of start-up relationship farming in Ethiopia’s world-famous southern zones.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nAnnual farm visits from Royal CEO Max Nicholas-Fulmer and regular communication with farmers through \u0026lt;a style=\"text-decoration: none; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; color: rgb(44, 123, 208); border-radius: 0px\" href=\"https:\/\/royalcoffee.com\/meet-haile-andualem-our-man-in-addis-ababa\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"\u0026gt;Haile Andualem\u0026lt;\/a\u0026gt;, Royal’s representative on the ground in Ethiopia, has been an essential component for ensuring that farmers and washing stations are following strict farm management and post-harvest protocols. The results have been increasing cup quality and higher returns for the individual producers that Royal has come to count on for great coffee year after year.\u0026lt;br \/\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/div\u0026gt;\u0026lt;div style=\"font-family: Lato, sans-serif; width: auto !important; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; white-space: pre-line; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-color: initial\"\u0026gt;\u0026lt;br \/\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/div\u0026gt;\u0026lt;div style=\"font-family: Lato, sans-serif; width: auto !important; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; white-space: pre-line; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-color: initial\"\u0026gt;Takele Mammo Denbi, at 47 years, is a brand-new participant in the \u0026lt;a style=\"text-decoration: none; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; color: rgb(44, 123, 208); border-radius: 0px\" href=\"https:\/\/royalcoffee.com\/single-farmer-lots-from-ycfcu-royal-coffee\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"\u0026gt;Single Farmer Lots Program\u0026lt;\/a\u0026gt; this year, but not at all new to the direct export process. Takele is currently stepping down after many years as the Managing Director of the Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union, of which his own farm has been a member. Takele has worked closely with Royal over the years helping this program succeed, but to avoid any conflict of interest excluded his personal coffee from the program. This lot comes from smallholder farmers organized around the Konga Processing Station located in the Konga disctrict, located in the heart of the coveted Gedeo Zone—the narrow section of plateau dense with savvy farmers whose coffee is known as “Yirgacheffe”. The Konga processing station is well-known for its quality, and it’s a distinct pleasure having individual farmers from this perennially impressive community to celebrate, not to mention one as dedicated to farmer opportunity as Takele.\u0026lt;br \/\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/div\u0026gt;","brand":"Royal Coffee Inc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46586490486972,"sku":"3427097000053333141","price":722.25,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0720\/7672\/2364\/files\/rcf-coffee-info-517cf15c64960e86c8c38d6c3ed712ba3af80eab3c7d0b5994ca67739e1e19d0.jpg?v=1789878050"},{"product_id":"40225","title":"ETHIOPIA YIRGACHEFFE 4 NATURAL ORGANIC KONGA - 40225 - GrainPro Bags - SPOT RCWHSE","description":"\u0026lt;div style=\"font-family: Lato, sans-serif; width: auto !important; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; white-space: pre-line; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-color: initial\"\u0026gt;The creation of the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange (ECX) in 2008 significantly limited farm-level traceability. In a noble effort to reduce nepotism and fraudulent marketing by bad actors in the chain (both of which directly hurt farmers’ chances in the market), the Exchange instituted a nationalized system of purely empirical quality analysis.\u0026lt;br \/\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/div\u0026gt;\u0026lt;div style=\"font-family: Lato, sans-serif; width: auto !important; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; white-space: pre-line; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-color: initial\"\u0026gt;\u0026lt;br \/\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/div\u0026gt;\u0026lt;div style=\"font-family: Lato, sans-serif; width: auto !important; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; white-space: pre-line; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-color: initial\"\u0026gt;This was achieved by anonymizing coffee deliveries to government-run sensory analysis hubs throughout the country. In these labs, samples would be cupped and the entire lot would then be profiled by region and grade only, for internal auction to exporters. Where all of this backfired was in relationship markets: longtime microlot buyers, like Royal, could risk losing access to very established producer partnerships as their coffees were blinded in the Exchange; and, enterprising coops, unable to show their coffees directly to buyers, found it more difficult to find their coffees a consistent home for the highest value.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nIn response, Royal, with support from select cooperatives, led the formation of the \u0026lt;a style=\"text-decoration: none; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; color: rgb(44, 123, 208); border-radius: 0px\" href=\"https:\/\/royalcoffee.com\/single-farmer-lots-from-ycfcu-royal-coffee\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"\u0026gt;Single Farmer Lots Program\u0026lt;\/a\u0026gt;, in order to break off single farmer lots from the larger cooperative blends sold through the ECX, taking custody of these precious coffees through a direct sale. The program is a unique micro-channel of almost unprecedented specificity in coffee supply from Ethiopia. Farmers with the drive and means to sell direct are supported by Royal, and, in turn, our most enthusiastic buyers of Ethiopia coffee have access to a portfolio of single-farm lots, un-diluted by the typical cooperative- and exporter-level consolidations. The \u0026lt;a style=\"text-decoration: none; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; color: rgb(44, 123, 208); border-radius: 0px\" href=\"https:\/\/royalcoffee.com\/single-farmer-lots-from-ycfcu-royal-coffee\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"\u0026gt;Single Farmer Lots Program\u0026lt;\/a\u0026gt; represents a very sweet end to a chaotic recent chapter in Ethiopia’s coffee history, and we think it’s a model for what ought to be a generation of start-up relationship farming in Ethiopia’s world-famous southern zones.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nAnnual farm visits from Royal CEO Max Nicholas-Fulmer and regular communication with farmers through \u0026lt;a style=\"text-decoration: none; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; color: rgb(44, 123, 208); border-radius: 0px\" href=\"https:\/\/royalcoffee.com\/meet-haile-andualem-our-man-in-addis-ababa\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"\u0026gt;Haile Andualem\u0026lt;\/a\u0026gt;, Royal’s representative on the ground in Ethiopia, has been an essential component for ensuring that farmers and washing stations are following strict farm management and post-harvest protocols. The results have been increasing cup quality and higher returns for the individual producers that Royal has come to count on for great coffee year after year.\u0026lt;br \/\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/div\u0026gt;\u0026lt;div style=\"font-family: Lato, sans-serif; width: auto !important; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; white-space: pre-line; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-color: initial\"\u0026gt;\u0026lt;br \/\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/div\u0026gt;\u0026lt;div style=\"font-family: Lato, sans-serif; width: auto !important; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; white-space: pre-line; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-color: initial\"\u0026gt;Takele Mammo Denbi, at 47 years, is a brand-new participant in the \u0026lt;a style=\"text-decoration: none; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; color: rgb(44, 123, 208); border-radius: 0px\" href=\"https:\/\/royalcoffee.com\/single-farmer-lots-from-ycfcu-royal-coffee\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"\u0026gt;Single Farmer Lots Program\u0026lt;\/a\u0026gt; this year, but not at all new to the direct export process. Takele is currently stepping down after many years as the Managing Director of the Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union, of which his own farm has been a member. Takele has worked closely with Royal over the years helping this program succeed, but to avoid any conflict of interest excluded his personal coffee from the program. This lot comes from smallholder farmers organized around the Konga Processing Station located in the Konga disctrict, located in the heart of the coveted Gedeo Zone—the narrow section of plateau dense with savvy farmers whose coffee is known as “Yirgacheffe”. The Konga processing station is well-known for its quality, and it’s a distinct pleasure having individual farmers from this perennially impressive community to celebrate, not to mention one as dedicated to farmer opportunity as Takele.\u0026lt;br \/\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/div\u0026gt;","brand":"Royal Coffee Inc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46586490618044,"sku":"3427097000053333136","price":724.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0720\/7672\/2364\/files\/rcf-coffee-info-517cf15c64960e86c8c38d6c3ed712ba3af80eab3c7d0b5994ca67739e1e19d0.jpg?v=1789878050"},{"product_id":"40224","title":"ETHIOPIA YIRGACHEFFE 4 NATURAL ORGANIC KONGA - 40224 - GrainPro Bags - SPOT RCWHSE","description":"\u0026lt;div style=\"font-family: Lato, sans-serif; width: auto !important; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; white-space: pre-line; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-color: initial\"\u0026gt;The creation of the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange (ECX) in 2008 significantly limited farm-level traceability. In a noble effort to reduce nepotism and fraudulent marketing by bad actors in the chain (both of which directly hurt farmers’ chances in the market), the Exchange instituted a nationalized system of purely empirical quality analysis.\u0026lt;br \/\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/div\u0026gt;\u0026lt;div style=\"font-family: Lato, sans-serif; width: auto !important; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; white-space: pre-line; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-color: initial\"\u0026gt;\u0026lt;br \/\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/div\u0026gt;\u0026lt;div style=\"font-family: Lato, sans-serif; width: auto !important; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; white-space: pre-line; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-color: initial\"\u0026gt;This was achieved by anonymizing coffee deliveries to government-run sensory analysis hubs throughout the country. In these labs, samples would be cupped and the entire lot would then be profiled by region and grade only, for internal auction to exporters. Where all of this backfired was in relationship markets: longtime microlot buyers, like Royal, could risk losing access to very established producer partnerships as their coffees were blinded in the Exchange; and, enterprising coops, unable to show their coffees directly to buyers, found it more difficult to find their coffees a consistent home for the highest value.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nIn response, Royal, with support from select cooperatives, led the formation of the \u0026lt;a style=\"text-decoration: none; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; color: rgb(44, 123, 208); border-radius: 0px\" href=\"https:\/\/royalcoffee.com\/single-farmer-lots-from-ycfcu-royal-coffee\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"\u0026gt;Single Farmer Lots Program\u0026lt;\/a\u0026gt;, in order to break off single farmer lots from the larger cooperative blends sold through the ECX, taking custody of these precious coffees through a direct sale. The program is a unique micro-channel of almost unprecedented specificity in coffee supply from Ethiopia. Farmers with the drive and means to sell direct are supported by Royal, and, in turn, our most enthusiastic buyers of Ethiopia coffee have access to a portfolio of single-farm lots, un-diluted by the typical cooperative- and exporter-level consolidations. The \u0026lt;a style=\"text-decoration: none; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; color: rgb(44, 123, 208); border-radius: 0px\" href=\"https:\/\/royalcoffee.com\/single-farmer-lots-from-ycfcu-royal-coffee\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"\u0026gt;Single Farmer Lots Program\u0026lt;\/a\u0026gt; represents a very sweet end to a chaotic recent chapter in Ethiopia’s coffee history, and we think it’s a model for what ought to be a generation of start-up relationship farming in Ethiopia’s world-famous southern zones.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nAnnual farm visits from Royal CEO Max Nicholas-Fulmer and regular communication with farmers through \u0026lt;a style=\"text-decoration: none; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; color: rgb(44, 123, 208); border-radius: 0px\" href=\"https:\/\/royalcoffee.com\/meet-haile-andualem-our-man-in-addis-ababa\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"\u0026gt;Haile Andualem\u0026lt;\/a\u0026gt;, Royal’s representative on the ground in Ethiopia, has been an essential component for ensuring that farmers and washing stations are following strict farm management and post-harvest protocols. The results have been increasing cup quality and higher returns for the individual producers that Royal has come to count on for great coffee year after year.\u0026lt;br \/\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/div\u0026gt;\u0026lt;div style=\"font-family: Lato, sans-serif; width: auto !important; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; white-space: pre-line; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-color: initial\"\u0026gt;\u0026lt;br \/\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/div\u0026gt;\u0026lt;div style=\"font-family: Lato, sans-serif; width: auto !important; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; white-space: pre-line; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-color: initial\"\u0026gt;Takele Mammo Denbi, at 47 years, is a brand-new participant in the \u0026lt;a style=\"text-decoration: none; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; color: rgb(44, 123, 208); border-radius: 0px\" href=\"https:\/\/royalcoffee.com\/single-farmer-lots-from-ycfcu-royal-coffee\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"\u0026gt;Single Farmer Lots Program\u0026lt;\/a\u0026gt; this year, but not at all new to the direct export process. Takele is currently stepping down after many years as the Managing Director of the Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union, of which his own farm has been a member. Takele has worked closely with Royal over the years helping this program succeed, but to avoid any conflict of interest excluded his personal coffee from the program. This lot comes from smallholder farmers organized around the Konga Processing Station located in the Konga disctrict, located in the heart of the coveted Gedeo Zone—the narrow section of plateau dense with savvy farmers whose coffee is known as “Yirgacheffe”. The Konga processing station is well-known for its quality, and it’s a distinct pleasure having individual farmers from this perennially impressive community to celebrate, not to mention one as dedicated to farmer opportunity as Takele.\u0026lt;br \/\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/div\u0026gt;","brand":"Royal Coffee Inc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46586490650812,"sku":"3427097000053333117","price":723.94,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0720\/7672\/2364\/files\/rcf-coffee-info-517cf15c64960e86c8c38d6c3ed712ba3af80eab3c7d0b5994ca67739e1e19d0.jpg?v=1789878050"},{"product_id":"40306","title":"ETHIOPIA YIRGACHEFFE 3 NATURAL FT-FLO ORGANIC KONGA - 40306 - GrainPro Bags - ETA: Oct 29, 2026 - RCWHSE","description":"ETHIOPIA YIRGACHEFFE 3 NATURAL FT-FLO ORGANIC KONGA is sourced from family owned farms organized around the Konga Cooperative located within the coffee region of Yirgacheffe in the Gedeo Zone, Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region, Ethiopia. The Konga Cooperative currently has 1,556 members.  In 2002, the cooperative joined the Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union (YCFCU), an umbrella organization established in 2002 to support a sustainable coffee supply from cooperatives in the Gedeo ethnic region of Ethiopia.  There are twenty-six other cooperatives affiliated with the YCFCU totaling more than 45,000 members.","brand":"Royal Coffee Inc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46586490716348,"sku":"3427097000053575104","price":809.55,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0720\/7672\/2364\/files\/rcf-coffee-info-8a04f8733665b289ab19990ea6de7748cc08e1335f0e41cf97fa0886dbb8c0c8.jpg?v=1789915298"},{"product_id":"40304","title":"ETHIOPIA YIRGACHEFFE 3 NATURAL FT-FLO ORGANIC KOKE - 40304 - GrainPro Bags - ETA: Oct 29, 2026 - RCWHSE","description":"ETHIOPIA YIRGACHEFFE 3 NATURAL FT-FLO ORGANIC KOKE is sourced from family-owned farms organized around the Koke Cooperative located within the coffee region of Yirgacheffe in the Gedeo Zone, Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region, Ethiopia. The Koke Cooperative currently has 828 members. In 2002, the cooperative joined the Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union (YCFCU), an umbrella organization established 2002 to support a sustainable coffee supply from cooperatives in the Gedeo ethnic region of Ethiopia. There are twenty-six other cooperatives affiliated with the YCFCU totaling more than 45,000 members.","brand":"Royal Coffee Inc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46586490749116,"sku":"3427097000053575092","price":809.55,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0720\/7672\/2364\/files\/rcf-coffee-info-7810a69e88d608969f3e35f6c26143ee2993add176e4c4fa7d806b9b2726d2a2.jpg?v=1789903313"},{"product_id":"40305","title":"ETHIOPIA YIRGACHEFFE 3 NATURAL FT-FLO ORGANIC IDIDO - 40305 - GrainPro Bags - ETA: Oct 29, 2026 - RCWHSE","description":"ETHIOPIA YIRGACHEFFE 3 NATURAL FT-FLO ORGANIC IDIDO is sourced from family owned farms organized around the Edido Cooperative located in Idido also known as Singage within the coffee region of Yirgacheffe in the Gedeo Zone, Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region, Ethiopia. The Edido Cooperative was established in 1975, and currently has 1,247 members. It joined the Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union (YCFCU) in 2002. The YCFCU has more than 45,000 farmer members and 24 different cooperatives. The members of each primary cooperative elect their own executive committee, which makes decisions about investments like new equipment and tree maintenance, and how to structure payments to the coop members. YCFCU also appoints professional managers for each primary cooperative to oversee harvest and processing procedures, but the manager is accountable to the members and the executive committee.","brand":"Royal Coffee Inc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46586490781884,"sku":"3427097000053575099","price":809.55,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0720\/7672\/2364\/files\/rcf-coffee-info-15cc57c92cb4ebb36afe874edec3e8b2553bb565b391aac2112c7972897141f0.jpg?v=1789792930"},{"product_id":"40524","title":"ETHIOPIA YIRGACHEFFE 1 WASHED FT-FLO ORGANIC IDIDO - 40524 - GrainPro Bags - ETA: Oct 29, 2026 - RCWHSE","description":"Idido is one of Ethiopia’s best-known cooperatives. It’s centrally located among Yirgacheffe producers, being just a few kilometers outside the town of Yirga Chefe itself—a surprisingly small community given its mythical stature as one of the world’s most gifted coffee landscapes. Furthermore, Idido was one of the coops promoted through various “Misty Valley” campaigns that placed some of Ethiopia’s first specialty naturals into the spotlight.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nBut without question Idido’s notoriety is thanks to its consistently incredible expression of the central Gedeo Zone terroir. Idido is north of the town of Yirga Chefe, in the heart of the coveted Gedeo Zone—the narrow section of highland plateau dense with savvy farmers and fiercely competitive processors whose coffee is known the world over as “Yirgacheffe”. The Gedeo region is named after the Gedeo people who are indigenous to this area. As a coffee terroir, Yirgacheffe has for decades been considered a benchmark for beauty and complexity in arabica coffee—known for being beguilingly ornate and jasmine-like when fully washed, and seductively punchy and sweet when sundried--and hardly requires an introduction among coffee roasters, many of whom would count Yirgacheffe as one of the terroirs that led them into their profession. To many of us, Idido epitomizes Yirgacheffe’s brisk and floral profile.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nLike many of its peers Idido was originally formed in the 1970s and joined the Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union (YCFCU) in the early 2000s, achieving Organic and Fair Trade certifications at the same time. Idido’s 1044 members collectively farm 1862 hectares of land, about half of which is coffee, for most the only cash crop grown. Washed coffees are fermented underwater with regular water replenishments, and then sundried on raised beds. During drying the parchment coffee is often covered during the midday sun, which at this altitude is often searingly hot during harvest and can crack the brittle parchment if exposed for even an hour too long.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nThe Yirgacheffe Union itself has more than 50,000 individual farmer members and 24 different cooperatives across the Gedeo Zone. (Gedeo, while tiny compared to neighboring Sidama and Guji zones, is one of Ethiopia’s most densely populated areas after its capital city, Addis Ababa.) The members of each primary cooperative elect their own executive committee, which makes decisions about investments like new equipment and tree maintenance, and how to structure payments to the coop members. YCFCU also appoints professional managers for each primary cooperative to oversee harvest and processing procedures, who are accountable to the members and the executive committee.","brand":"Royal Coffee Inc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46586490814652,"sku":"3427097000054096050","price":870.4,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0720\/7672\/2364\/files\/rcf-coffee-info-00cce29346ee6d99714051baacce0b97b80d5f6c7a80057751490c93685624e3.jpg?v=1789778566"},{"product_id":"40780","title":"Ethiopia Yirgacheffe 2 Washed - 40780 - GrainPro Bags - SPOT RCWHSE","description":"\u0026lt;p dir=\"ltr\"\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Background Details:\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/p\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;p dir=\"ltr\"\u0026gt;Gedeb station is located in the coveted \u0026lt;span class=\"markivtgdmqpz\"\u0026gt;Gedeb\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt; district, the southernmost district of \u0026lt;span class=\"markruiu46z8d\"\u0026gt;Ethiopia\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;’s famous Gedeo zone.  Nearly all of \u0026lt;span class=\"markivtgdmqpz\"\u0026gt;Gedeb\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt; is known for its gifted processing climate and experienced growers.  \u0026lt;span class=\"mark2e0wa7mz5\"\u0026gt;Washed\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt; and natural coffees alike from this area tend to be dense and fruit-forward, ranging from sparkling clean acidic fruits to jammy or herbal concentrated sweetness.\u0026lt;\/p\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;p dir=\"ltr\"\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span class=\"markivtgdmqpz\"\u0026gt;Gedeb\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt; and Its Coffee:\u0026lt;\/p\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;p dir=\"ltr\"\u0026gt;Gedeo zone is a narrow section of \u0026lt;span class=\"markruiu46z8d\"\u0026gt;Ethiopia\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;’s southern highland plateau dense with savvy farmers, a famous terroir, and high competition for cherry.  Gedeo as a whole is frequently referred to as “\u0026lt;span class=\"mark3ep5coqrs\"\u0026gt;Yirgacheffe\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;”, after the zone’s most famous central district.  \u0026lt;span class=\"markivtgdmqpz\"\u0026gt;Gedeb\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;, however, is a terroir, history, and community all its own that merits unique designation in our eyes.  Coffees from this district, much closer to Guji zone than the rest of Gedeo, are often the most explosive cup profiles we see from anywhere in \u0026lt;span class=\"markruiu46z8d\"\u0026gt;Ethiopia\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;.  Naturals tend to have perfume-like volatiles, and fully \u0026lt;span class=\"mark2e0wa7mz5\"\u0026gt;washed\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt; lots are often sparklingly clean and fruit candy-like in structure.  The \u0026lt;span class=\"markivtgdmqpz\"\u0026gt;Gedeb\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt; district is a remote but impressively industrious area for coffee production. Half of its territory is planted with coffee.  The city of \u0026lt;span class=\"markivtgdmqpz\"\u0026gt;Gedeb\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt; itself is a bustling outpost that links commerce between the Guji and Gedeo Zones, with an expansive network of processing stations who buy cherry from across zone borders.  The communities surrounding \u0026lt;span class=\"markivtgdmqpz\"\u0026gt;Gedeb\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt; reach some of the highest growing elevations for coffee in the world and are a truly enchanting part of the landscape.\u0026lt;\/p\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;p dir=\"ltr\"\u0026gt;Processing Details\u0026lt;\/p\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;p dir=\"ltr\"\u0026gt;This particular processing station has hundreds of individual  smallholders contributing cherries, each averaging about 3 hectares of coffee cultivation.  Most of them also produce enset—a fruit-less relative of the banana tree whose pulp is scraped and packed into cakes, fermented underground, and then toasted as kocho, a staple starch in the area.  The \u0026lt;span class=\"mark2e0wa7mz5\"\u0026gt;washed\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt; processed coffees are sorted by hand on arrival, then floated to remove less dense and damaged cherries.  Next the sorted cherries are depulped, fermented and \u0026lt;span class=\"mark2e0wa7mz5\"\u0026gt;washed\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;, and then taken to raised beds to fully dry, a process that takes about 18 days.  Finished dried parchment is stored locally to rest and allow internal moisture to equilibrate, and then trucked to Addis Ababa to be dehulled and for additional sorting and preparation for export.\u0026lt;\/p\u0026gt;","brand":"Royal Coffee Inc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46586490945724,"sku":"3427097000054689466","price":736.19,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0720\/7672\/2364\/files\/rcf-coffee-info-110dc6a68009e19084ed06d4d14a8ec60f02c084f5af42368d3218b23b87dc99.jpg?v=1789789897"},{"product_id":"40107","title":"Ethiopia Yirgacheffe 1 Natural Idido Memiru Demise - 40107 - GrainPro Bags - ETA: Oct 29, 2026 - RCWHSE","description":"We're excited to offer this new product and we're actively working on compiling information on this coffee. Please check back soon for more details.","brand":"Royal Coffee Inc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46586491109564,"sku":"3427097000053095129","price":857.17,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0720\/7672\/2364\/files\/Comingsoon_7a22d5db-bbd9-44df-a990-c3622b514235.jpg?v=1787774678"},{"product_id":"40219","title":"ETHIOPIA YIRGACHEFFE 1 NATURAL ORGANIC ABEBE GODANA - 40219 - GrainPro Bags - SPOT RCWHSE","description":"\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Coffee from individual farmers is becoming less difficult to find in Ethiopia, but it is still extremely rare and requires a full supply chain in its support. This is a single-farmer microlot from the heart of the Yirgacheffe district, milled and exported by the former manager of the robust Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union. \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Brief History \u0026amp; Flavor Profile\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Konga is part of Yirgacheffe, one of 8 woredas, or districts, that together comprise the dense and competitive highland zone of Gedeo. The entire Gedeo zone is in fact often referred to as “Yirgacheffe” thanks to the notoriety of this particular district. Konga is centrally located among Yirgacheffe producers, being just a few kilometers south of the town of Yirga Chefe itself—a surprisingly small community given its mythical stature as one of the world’s most gifted coffee landscapes. As a coffee terroir, this part of Gedeo has for decades been considered a benchmark for beauty and complexity in arabica coffee—known for being beguilingly ornate and jasmine-like when fully washed, and seductively punchy and sweet when sundried--and hardly requires an introduction. \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Processing Detail \u0026amp; Quality Control\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;The vast majority of coffee processing in Ethiopia is centralized due to complete lack of infrastructure or efficiencies at the farm level, but larger plots like Abebe’s allow for greater personal control. Abebe Godana’s farm is 12.884 hectares in size, enormous compared to the average 1 hectare or less belonging to most coffee producers in the Yirgacheffe district. \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Abebe employs 11 pickers each harvest for cherry collection. Cherry is delivered throughout the day during harvest, where it is inspected and sorted for acceptability based on ripeness and uniformity. Once received, cherries are moved directly to the drying tables where they spread in a single layer to dry in the sun. The full drying process normally takes 3 weeks. \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Once cherries have been thoroughly dried and rested, the dried fruit is hulled from the coffee seed locally, and then transferred to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital. In Addis the coffee is dry-milled by Konga Trading PLC, using modern color sorting equipment and a fleet of trained workers who repeatedly hand-sort the coffee for export. Takele Mammo, the founder of Konga Trading, was for many years the manager of Ethiopia’s Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union (YCFCU), one of Ethiopia’s highest quality exporters and supply chains for Fairtrade and Organic certified coffee. During his time with the union, Takele, in partnership with Royal, regularly facilitated select individual farmer exports together each year from within the cooperative union structure. It was considered very unusual at the beginning, but over time this effort laid the groundwork for what is now a robust demand for unique, small-farm coffees from Ethiopia’s most famous specialty area. \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;","brand":"Royal Coffee Inc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46586491207868,"sku":"3427097000053333080","price":869.88,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0720\/7672\/2364\/files\/ETHIOPIA-YIRGACHEFFE-1-NATURAL-ORGANIC-ABEBE-GODANAback-scaled_e53965d6-e5d8-4a65-9662-056286af5ff6.jpg?v=1787862791"},{"product_id":"40220","title":"ETHIOPIA YIRGACHEFFE 1 NATURAL ORGANIC WELDE HIRBE - 40220 - GrainPro Bags - SPOT RCWHSE","description":"This coffee is produced by Wolde Hirbe and processed as a separate lot at the Adame Gorbota Cooperative where Wolde is a member. The Adame Gorbota Cooperative is located in the district of Wenago in the Gedeo Zone within the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region, Ethiopia. Wolde Hirbe is part of the single producer project developed jointly between the Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union (YCFCU) and Royal Coffee. The project was initiated in 2012 with a handful of ‘Model’ producers from cooperatives organized under the YCFCU umbrella who have been willing to work with a rigorous set of processing standards, regular farm visits from the Royal team, and higher cup qualifications. In exchange, producers earn higher quality premiums based on the sale of their individual lots.  Wolde was originally selected for the project because he has been cultivating coffee for more than 30 years and his 10 acre farm located near the community of Jemjemo is meticulously managed. Wolde’s coffee has been consistently sold as a micro-lot since the inception of the single producer project, which has helped him better support his family of ten.","brand":"Royal Coffee Inc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46586491371708,"sku":"3427097000053333087","price":861.72,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0720\/7672\/2364\/files\/rcf-coffee-info-95ca46276955a8dd16e6091a660993fb1796b9ff6c26df58b2634fd33ecc96aa.jpg?v=1789923108"},{"product_id":"39596","title":"ETHIOPIA SIDAMO 2 WASHED ORGANIC - 39596 - GrainPro Bags - SPOT RCWHSE","description":"\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;The climb from the southern end of the Great Rift Valley, through Shashamene and past Awasa is gradual, and coffee trees slowly increase in frequency, large, lanky, and dusty by the roadside, many so tall they lean on the roofs of houses for support. \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Sidama has one of the most robust cooperative unions in the country with 53 member cooperatives, as well as a thriving industry of independent washing stations. While often considered Ethiopia’s second-best terroir after Gedeo Zone (also known as “Yirgacheffe”), qualities in Sidama often meet or surpass those of Gedeo’s most famous districts. Coffees here can be planted at some of the world’s highest elevations, with some of the best soil and processing conditions found anywhere in Ethiopia.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;Washed processed coffees in Sidama (also spelled “Sidamo” by some) typically begin with freshly picked coffee cherry that is hand sorted for uniformity, washed clean and floated for consistent density before depulping. After depulping, coffee is \u0026lt;span class=\"markgoe8ft4cp\"\u0026gt;washed\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt; and w\u0026lt;span class=\"markgoe8ft4cp\"\u0026gt;ashed\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt; parchment is placed \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span\u0026gt;on raised screen beds, where it will stay for 2-3 weeks on average. At almost every processing site, drying parchment is kept to a very shallow depth on the tables, and is rotated nearly continuously by a huge staff of seasonal employees who rake, stir, pile, and toss the drying coffee to ensure an even dehydration in the open air. Drying coffee is covered during the searingly-hot afternoon hours to protect it from cracking, and again overnight to block the settling humidity. Coffee is\u0026lt;span class=\"TextRun SCXW128913907 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\"\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW128913907 BCX0\"\u0026gt; brought into local warehouses for storage, prior to being transported to Addis Ababa for final dry milling and export.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;","brand":"Royal Coffee Inc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46586491404476,"sku":"3427097000052165331","price":773.96,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0720\/7672\/2364\/files\/rcf-coffee-info-165616972dfa61d5e19c3add9de3cedeb61f80880d07b3417647859e03893cb4.jpg?v=1789793436"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0720\/7672\/2364\/collections\/Ethiopia-Map-980x762_png.webp?v=1774924077","url":"https:\/\/royalcoffee.com\/collections\/ethiopia.oembed?page=10","provider":"Royal Coffee","version":"1.0","type":"link"}